Gus Poyet defends Fede Valverde, claims he'd have done the same thing after Real Madrid man assaulted Villarreal's Alex Baena

Greece coach Gus Poyet has jumped to Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde’s defence amid an ongoing probe into the Uruguayan’s assault on Villarreal’s Alex Baena at the weekend.

According to GOAL, Valverde assaulted Baena in the bus parking area following Real Madrid’s 3-2 La Liga defeat to Villarreal on Saturday (April 8) night. It has been claimed that Baena spoke ill about Valverde’s unborn son when Villarreal met Madrid in the Copa del Rey in January. The incident took place shortly after Valverde and his wife suffered a miscarriage scare.

On Saturday night, Baena once again crossed paths with Valverde and allegedly used similar slurs, causing Valverde to lose his cool. Uruguayan manager Poyet has defended Valverde’s actions, claiming that he would have done the same had he been in the Uruguay international’s position. On Spanish outlet Diario AS, Poyet said:

“I put myself from Valverde's point of view, I would have done the same thing. I have no doubt that it could have happened. If something else happened, we will see if it goes somewhere, if there is an investigation. Analysing what Fede says he (Baena) told him, I think it was an implication. Afterward, everyone does what he wants. There's only so much you can say.”

As per Spanish journalist Edu Aguirre, police have taken statements from both Baena and Valverde, with the Uruguayan admitting to assaulting the 21-year-old.

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Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger takes dig at Chelsea ahead of Champions League quarterfinal

Ahead of his team's UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Chelsea on Wednesday (April 12), Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger took a sneaky dig at his former club.

The German defender said that the Blues’ current team, languishing in 11th place in the Premier League, did not resemble the one that won the Champions League two years ago. Rudiger told Spanish outlet MARCA:

“The Chelsea team I played for is nothing like the current Chelsea team. But what is clear to me is that the match will be tough, they have plenty of quality players.”

In the 2020-21 season, Chelsea beat Real Madrid 3-1 (on aggregate) in the semi-finals before beating Manchester City 1-0 to win their second Champions League. Last year, Los Blancos beat the Pensioners in the quarterfinals with a 5-4 aggregate win, despite losing the second leg 3-2 at home.

With plenty of changes in both teams since then, it will be interesting to see which team comes out on top in the last eight this time.