Team and victims: “Okay, after a win you always train in a better mood. As for the victims, neither De Tomás nor Óscar Valentín are available. Raúl’s discomfort, you know, is that of the past few weeks. Óscar retired injured against Valladolid. I trust it won’t be for many games, but for now it’s out. I don’t know how long we will lose him.”
Match analysis: “La Real have won eight games in a row. If we are happy to have won the last one, imagine them. They are a team that are doing very well and away from home they have some sensational numbers. The early parts are very good and when they get ahead it’s hard to turn it around. Nobody has. You have to start well because in the second half we usually go further. They score the first goal early and we have to do better at that start”.
Heroes: “We took more points from the teams below, from those in our league, but it’s true that we also added against the teams above and to win we only beat Madrid. You have to do things right and get that point from have success and fortune, the basis is that you play a draw”.
Take advantage of your fatigue quickly: “They are used to this pace and have a very large squad. We want to play like that, with rhythm, so that they don’t control the game and dictate everything that happens. There will be scenarios where they have the ball and we are in a low block. We will try to make it as short as possible. We want them to run back and worry about transitions.”
Imanol Seal: “He is doing very well and for a long time. He shows that this is not the product of three good players. We are also doing well. Last year we played two more or less equal games against them. We took a point and in We lost Anoeta in the end with a penalty, we have the level to stand up to them.”
Balance: “What remains for us on Betis day is the goal we conceded. In Valladolid we won because we didn’t make any serious mistakes. We were focused for a long time. If they score a goal against you, it’s because of their merit. Don’t mistake us for something very crude. We need to take the game to our ground and not give them too much time to think.”
Unai Lopez, owner?: “I know what I’m going to do, but I’m not going to say it. We used Unai as a ’10’ away from home and it more or less worked out well for us. His position, where we think he performs best, is ‘8’. There are alternatives to Óscar Valentín and I trust that they will be noticed as little as possible”.
Not repeating last year, the second-round downfall: “We had one more point. To equalize we would have to add four points in these two remaining games. Last year we had a more unbalanced program, we played all the underdogs at home in the first round. This time it is more balanced. are several seasons. This is ultimately to achieve the goal. And the sooner the better. We don’t know what will happen. The team is in good shape, fighting every game, I see them with the capacity in every scenario and if If we keep going like this, we’ll get what we want”.
royal style: “It’s more attractive as a spectator to play against teams that are playing, like Girona, Betis on the day… with arrivals from one side and the other. I like it more and we’re better there than in slow environments, where a specific game has an impact. It costs us more.”
If they win what’s left, they’ll draw the best first round in history: “We are clear about where we stand and what we want to achieve. We can look at statistics to fool ourselves. We want to participate in every game. Apart from the races in Mallorca and Almería, I am happy this year. In that scenario, we are doing well.”
Pitta Mateu. Are umpires’ mistakes a concern?: “It is decisive, but it is not under our control. It has a great influence on the result, your work, the consequences… Often you have the right to kick your feet, but we try not to let it take away our energy”.