The Villarreal manager underlines that the point gained against Spartak is ‘very important’
Villarreal manager Javi Calleja says his team was unable to kill the game off against Spartak Moscow after going ahead twice, and admits they paid for it. “We lacked purpose. We weren’t able to interpret what the game was asking for. The last half hour wasn’t good. We lacked concentration and this allowed them to make it 3-2. The best thing about the game is that we had faith in ourselves until the last moment. This point allows us to continue depending on ourselves,” he commented.
For Calleja, it was a fair result: “As got later into the game, our tiredness meant we weren’t doing what we should be with the ball. We could have killed the game with counter attacks but we weren’t at the level needed to make the correct final ball. At the end, we ended up paying for that. When you give gifts, they make you pay. At the end of the match, I think a point is far.”
Currently, Villarreal are third in Group G with with two points. “We have to learn from this game to get better in the future. We still have time and we need to carry on making improvements. This point allows us to depend on ourselves and that is fundamental. We believe in ourselves that we can get out of the group. It is a very important point, but we could have come away with a win,” analysed Calleja.
Finally, the head coach reassured the press conference that he is now thinking in the next game against RCD Espanyol (Sunday, 6:30pm): “We have men in the team and we can’t have our heads down. Now we’re focused on the Espanyol match. First of all, we need to rest to be at 100% for that game.”
