Sensations
“Naturally, I feel the same as the team and all of you. A great deal of uneasiness. The guys made a big effort, they tried to perform as well as possible. They arrived at the rival area and generated chances; many passes but few shots at goal. In particular actions, a couple of mistakes condemned us to lose the game. Villarreal, within their gameplay, made the most of those mistakes. As quality players, they took advantage and got on the scoreboard. They also managed timing well throughout play.”
Two draws and one defeat
“In relation to how the matches have developed, against Osasuna I think the team did a good job and we could have won. In the two subsequent games, that wasn’t the case. In the First Division, matches are very even, it’s difficult to win. In today’s match, the result is clear, but the sensations of the team are different to other games. I liked what the team did, they reached the rival goal, focused and generated chances, but at the end of the day it’s goals that count, and that’s where we were lacking. What remains is the result, it leaves a bad feeling, but the effort from the players is not in doubt. Until the first Villarreal goal, Málaga got to the goal area with more clarity, and created a few promising chances. However, lacking accuracy in front of goal means that when you concede a goal it can condemn you to lose.”
Defence
“Against Espanyol we were fragile in defence, and we were the same today. We changed players but still had the same problems. It’s a question of continuing to work hard, so the players acquire the security and confidence required. It’s not about naming names. Defensively, the team doesn’t have the necessary rigour to play with the security needed in the First Division.
System change
“The change in system came about from seeking security in defence. We accumulated another player in defence in order to find this security, but we still weren’t able to.”
Chory Castro
“With regard to Chory Castro, he’s a player with defensive characteristics who in an attacking midfielder role, we thought could have the possibility of a shot at goal, he’s got a good left foot. By adding another striker, I think it would have disorganised the team a lot, the rival had a lot of players in midfield. We would have lost the security in midfield as the team was dominating, we reached Villarreal’s area, but lacked the final finish. However, we did have good control of the match.”