William Saliba believes we must continue to build momentum after a sensational 5-1 victory over Sporting CP in the Champions League.
A glittering performance saw us demolish the Portuguese champions in Lisbon, following up on our 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest as we continue life after the international break on a high.
Scoring eight goals in two games is a great way to build confidence, but the defender is already looking ahead and hopes we carry our promising form into the weekend after going four league games without a win before the international break.
“I think we had two or three weeks before the international break when it was really tough, but now, we get back and we play two really good games,” William admitted. “But it’s not enough, we have to keep going like this and we have a big game on Saturday. But it’s good, it’s good for the confidence that we won today and let’s keep going like this.
“The coach always told us to believe because we are a really good team. We had some bad times, but now better times are coming so we have to stick together and keep going like that.”
Tonight’s success at Sporting was Saliba’s 100th appearance for the club since making his long-awaited debut on the opening day of the 2022/23 season.
William has missed just 20 matches since his debut against Crystal Palace and revealed his pride at becoming the latest player to reach a century of appearances in red.
He said: “I’m very proud, I hope I will have more games with this amazing club, I have to keep going but of course 100 games here is amazing.”
Martin Odegaard shone once again during the big win on the road and Saliba reserved high praise for our Norwegian captain, putting him in the highest bracket possible when it comes to his ability in comparison to his contemporaries.
He said: “I think he’s one of the best midfielders in the world and we are so happy to have him back. We are better with him so I hope he won’t get injured again. Of course, we have to enjoy playing with him. We can see since he’s back we are better.
“He’s top three [in the world]. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him but I think top three. I love this guy. He worked hard at the training ground so I’m not surprised that he came back [from injury] like this but of course, it’s not easy when you haven’t played for four weeks to come back at this level. I’m not in shock, he’s a top professional.”
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