Tough draw
“We let two points slip away with the match almost over. The penalty, the referee is the one who awards it; after seeing it again, maybe he should have given 10 more. But he gave that one, and we’re not going to change it. We need to focus on ourselves and not think about the referee, because then we wouldn’t consider what we could have done better. We have to be much more precise and cause more damage.”
Factors to improve
“We didn’t want to sit back, so we aimed to strengthen our pressing and inject energy with the substitutions. And when we recover the ball, we need to be calmer in possession. We shouldn’t hesitate to move forward, and we can’t spend so much time without the ball, because that exposes us to risks. The most important thing is to reflect on what we did in order to improve in the next opportunities.”
Good moments and areas for improvement
“There were parts, and moments, where I really liked the team. This is against a side that hasn’t won three matches in a row by chance. There’s a reality we can accept. But we’re not satisfied with not closing out matches; these are situations where we need to show much more decisiveness.”
Competition within the team
“Repeating the same starting-11 was more due to the Copa situation and to give continuity to the players who are performing well. It would actually be great news if the line-ups didn’t repeat. The team competed, and if we had been able to ‘kill’ the match, it would have been different.”
The penalty
“I don’t want to talk about the referees… If that is a penalty, then nine penalties were missed in the match. I was surprised that the VAR didn’t review it. I’ve watched it several times; maybe tomorrow I’ll think differently. Recio played a great match, he’s at a high level, and I don’t understand why a penalty was awarded.”
The goal is to improve individually and collectively
“The penalty came in the ninety-something minute. If we had done things properly, maybe it would still have been given, but the score might have been 3-1. We need to be able to raise our level individually so that collectively we can be stronger. We created enough clear goal-scoring chances, and that is what we need to focus on.”
Balance and stability
“It’s important that we’re not a rollercoaster. From within, we have to try to maintain emotional consistency to perform well. That emotional stability is crucial for everything to go right. I see them well; they are young players with a lot of desire. We have a core of very young homegrown players who are giving everything, they can’t be blamed because they left it all on the pitch and never stopped running. In that sense, we are very proud of them. I want to play a match like today’s first half, where a 2-0 lead makes the crowd carry you forward. From the inside out. And when we achieve that, the fans will be with us. Each one contributing in their own way, and each player in their own space.”
