Statements from Pellegrini
 
(Match review) “It was very important for us to win, because if not Espanyol would have been five points ahead, and this is a good advantage.  On the one hand, I’m happy as a very good team won, we overcame them at various stages of the match; but on the other we could have had a bigger win.  It’s complicated to decide impartially if the referee was fair to us or not.  The victory is deserved for a great team.  I think the difference between us and Espanyol wasn’t down to the referee.  If we look at the amount of chances to score we had and also Espanyol, there’s an important difference that the score doesn’t reflect”.
 
(Short term objectives)  “No, the objective isn’t Europe, but to show week after week that we’re capable.  There’s nothing worse in football to have fixed objectives, one thing is to build the team, but another the reality of playing week in week out, which is what will take us to Europe.  We’ll have to improve in the intensity of game-play in the first few minutes.  The team’s anxiety is normal until they regain their confidence”.
 
(Penalty, fans and the match) “There are many of the team able to take penalties, we’re lucky as we have very good ‘kickers’ for penalties.  We had a difficult time at home last year, the public support is very important.  The team will go out and play and hopefully beat Betis at their ground.  As for the game not changing, I couldn’t be happier than I am today”.