Statements from Pellegrini

Great match
“The team played an excellent match.  We started off with a lot of patience, looking for chances to score.  We dominated both halves of the game, with Racing failing to create any danger in our goal area”.

A strong team
“Every single player was really involved in the game.  We’re definitely on the right track, with each player improving their individual performance.  There are still seven matches left till the end of the League, but being in third position is so important.  We need to keep playing like this in every match, I hope we can maintain the level of game play, as there’s 21 points left to play for”.

Tough week
“We’ve got another two difficult matches this week, we’ll see how we get on, but the team is playing very well, and if we maintain this standard, we’ll be able to go as far as we can.  The team has a lot of confidence right now, which we need to focus on till the end of the season.  We always try to have a positive dynamic and football style, which is vital to be able to better our level of play”.

Third in the League
“We had a setback against Betis, so now it’s crucial we don’t lose any more points at home.  The important thing is not to depend on other teams, and focus on the two matches we’ve got this week.  The team is in a really good place, it’s definitely not easy getting to third place in this League, but we did it, and I really hope I’ll be saying the same thing at the end of the season”.

Special visit to Villareal
“It’ll be special as I’m very fond of this Club.  I have no doubt they’ll stay in the First Division, and I wish them the very best of luck, and hope they soon get out of the situation they’re in now”.