Marcelino has highlighted his team’s good performance despite losing to Athletic
Villarreal head coach Marcelino García Toral said at the end of the game against Athletic that the key to the match, which ended in defeat for the Yellows, was the contrasting quality of the two teams in front of goal: “The team that was more convincing in the penalty areas won. We competed at a good level, although I’m annoyed by the first goal, which I think was very avoidable. The game was very evenly matched until the goal that made it 2-0. We had two very clear chances to equalise – one of which was the save of the match – and then, on a counter-attack, they scored the second and that was the end of the game.”
Furthermore, the Asturian head coach pointed out that the Basque side’s first goal could have been avoided. ‘Athletic are on the up. They are an opponent who penalise you for mistakes and get a high percentage of their decisions right. That’s why I’m sad and angry about the first goal. We knew Athletic were very dangerous at corners, it was very predictable that the ball would go there and we didn’t know how to defend well. It’s a big lack of intensity and concentration. Letting Athletic take the lead without them having created practically anything for you means you’re closer to defeat than victory.”
Despite returning empty-handed from Bilbao, Marcelino had words of praise for his side, highlighting their level of competitiveness. “Despite the defeat, I think the team had character, possession… and also a disallowed goal that could have changed the dynamic of the game. I have to congratulate my players because I think they competed at a good level against a good opponent.”
