Interview

‘I showed my striker’s instinct there!’

Skhodran Mustafi scored his second Premier League goal of the season to get us up and running against Crystal Palace on Thursday evening.

The World Cup winner was in the right place at the right time to casually stroke home after Alexandre Lacazette’s fierce strike had been parried by Julian Speroni.

Mustafi spoke to the media about his poacher’s finish, his physical battle with Christian Benteke, and the difference between a back three and back four after the game. Here’s what he had to say:

on his first away goal of the season…

I showed my striker’s instinct there! I was happy to score and it was important to go ahead because, when you come to places like this and go 1-0 down, the game becomes even more difficult. It was important to go ahead and I think that was the most crucial thing.

on how comfortable he felt in defence…

It’s always difficult when you come to places like this, when you have to adapt to different football. Our idea of football is different because we use short-passing play, but when you come here you have to adapt to their game, especially when you don’t have the ball. We did well. We conceded the first one, which was a little bit unlucky, and the second one we should have defended the corner a little bit better. Overall, we did well.

on the difference between a back three and a back four…

In defence there’s a lot of differences but it will probably take too long to explain the difference between a back three and a back four. It’s important to be focused because when you play a back four and then switch to a back three, it’s a different type of game. You have to cover different areas and there are different areas where you can play the ball. It’s important to be consistent and concentrated when you switch the system. On the other hand, it’s a strength when you can play two systems because the opponent never knows how we’re going to start or finish the game.

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