The Villarreal coach expressed his frustration after the defeat against Real Madrid
Villarreal CF head coach Marcelino García Toral showed his frustration following the controversial defeat to Real Madrid in a match inevitably influenced by refereeing decisions. “I’m not going to talk about the referee because it’s not my place. I didn’t like the refereeing at all. Football-wise, they took the lead. As for the second yellow, let it go to VAR and let them decide. I’m sure everything was fine,” he said.
For the Asturian coach, Madrid’s first goal at the start of the second half was damaging despite a good overall performance: “We wanted to start the second half with intensity and focus. Against a great opponent, this kind of situation can happen. It frustrated us to concede so early. If more minutes had passed, the match could have swung in our favour. The first goal was unlucky for us, but we recovered well. We were in the game and creating chances. The opponent didn’t generate much either until everything changed, and then there was nothing we could do.”
Marcelino praised his players’ efforts: “We defended very well on the wings. The same standard wasn’t applied to both teams. I try to be objective. Real Madrid deserved to win more, but there were also specific moments that could have gone the other way.”
Finally, the Submarino coach heaped praise on Mikautadze, the scorer of Villarreal’s goal at the Bernabéu: “Georges is a player still adapting. He’s showing his abilities. He has countless resources and can finish against top-class goalkeepers. He can give us an outstanding performance and help us achieve our objectives.”
