Pellegrini’s statements:

Málaga – Barcelona
“Within two minutes of the second half, Barça cemented the game.  In the first half we had four clear chances that stopped Valdés in his tracks.  It’s tough playing against Barcelona, but there wasn’t a problem of intensity or a lack of spirit.  We have to know what’s stopping us winning.  We were in a halfway position at the end of the first half and we’re not happy about that.  We’ve got problems in both areas.  There have been things in all matches that have undermined us, problems that we have to overcome with better focus, delivery and football.”

Margin for improvement – Recio
“We’re not going to give up, quite the opposite, there are always patches in football, and we’re not hanging on every week here or there.  We need to make improvements in all areas. Recio came on very well, also Seba Fernández and Rondón, who could be getting more goals for us.  Apoño’s exit means that there’ll be more possibilities for Recio, who I have brought up from the youth teams.  It was tough for Barcelona up until they got those two goals in five minutes.”

At ease
“The directors and coaching staff have patience, expectation is good and we’ve got to convert that out on the pitch.  It’s impossible that a team doesn’t go through a bad patch, but we have out feet on the ground as a club and I’m convinced that we are going to improve and reach our objective at the end of the year.  We have had 15 matches fighting in European positions and last year we had 15 fighting in the relegation zone.”