#AlmeríaMálaga analysis
“The match lived up to expectations. It was a great game between two strong teams that showed what they’ve been doing. The fans were able to enjoy it, and congratulations to Almería on the win. We have to keep going, we’re very happy with what the team did. Now it’s time to get back up and focus on the next one.”
Setbacks with the substitutions
“We had a lot of bad luck with the substitutions. We had asked for a change before the 2-0, and with Ramón’s, when Doti was injured, the referee felt the game shouldn’t be stopped. The substitution was ready, but we had to defend with one man less, and unfortunately their third goal came. We couldn’t make the changes, and that was very decisive in what happened.”
Final incident
“The red cards were for Chirino and Ramón. You have to know how to win and lose. We have to look after our own and Almería have to look after theirs. These are tense moments, but this won’t be the most tense match of the season. The league doesn’t end today, there are still games left, and it’s important to maintain our image. Both teams have to know how to win and lose.”
Collective reaction
“I want to credit my players. At 2-0 away from home it’s very difficult, everything becomes much harder. The substitutes performed at an exceptional level. Ochoa and Adri had very notable moments. Every player who came on contributed their part. We pushed them back into their own half and identified the right moments to get into their box. We did the hardest part by coming back to level it, we came here to win and didn’t want to settle for the draw. We wanted all three points, we had one, and we ended up with none.”
Contribution of the substitutes
“They are in the spotlight because they score the goal, but everyone contributed. Ochoa had a spectacular match. I place a lot of value on what the team did. The first half was evenly matched; they went 2-0 up with a lot of time left. Other teams concede four or five, but the boys stayed strong in the game with personality, determination, and pride. It’s a shame about the well-disallowed goal, which would have given us the goal difference and the three points.”
On to the next one
“Now it’s Castellón, and we’re going to focus on Castellón, not looking beyond that. We have to play well against them, this should push us to play with more desire and determination. We need to prepare that match very well. We can feel very proud of our players. We know how difficult the schedule is, the next opponent was in the automatic promotion spots until now. We’ve had great support from the fans, I stopped counting at 399, there were many more, and they really carried us. It’s a shame we couldn’t give them the three points, but they’ve seen that the players leave everything on the pitch, down to the very last drop of energy. The fans see it, even if in points we haven’t been able to reward them.”
Almería’s disallowed goal
“He was on top of him and it’s a clear foul, there’s not much more to add. I don’t know if it was reviewed, when we saw it on the screen, we knew there was no debate and that it was a foul.”
Absences in midfield
“We are calm, we have to wait and see what happens with Dotor. It’s too early to know whether he’ll be available or not. We’re facing adversity in the same position, and we’ll look for solutions during the week. We have resources for the Castellón match, adversity doesn’t hold us back. We are calm about whoever can play there, because we have competitive players to approach the Castellón game.”
Dani Sánchez absence
“It was a technical decision. If he trains like he did this week, he will be available for the Castellón match. We’re happy with the work he’s doing. We knew how important it was to have a winger like Haitam, and he could find his moment in the game. The change was about bringing in a winger instead of having three left-backs, it was only for that reason.”