The Villarreal manager praised the team’s hard work during the 90 minutes
Villarreal manager Javi Calleja appeared in front of the press after the match between Real Madrid and the Yellow Submarine at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The Yellows boss said his players could have got a draw at the very end of the match: “We had that ‘oh’ moment at the very end with Quintillà, and before he had four or five clear chances, so we could have been speaking about another result.”
However, the match did not start in the best way for Villarreal, given that the Whites went ahead early on. “We didn’t start well. We needed a bit more conviction at the beginning of the game, but we made a mistake straight away and Real Madrid were able to feel comfortable,” confessed Calleja. Even though, he hailed his side’s courage despite the difficulties: “In the second half, when we felt that everything was lost, the team showed up and tried until the very end.”
In the build up to the match, the Yellows manager said he expected a match with transitions and the team used their arms to beat the Madrid defence: “We’ve played nearly every match with the same system, with quick and vertical players on the wings. We did damage through Gerard, Bacca and Samu, but not with combined actions.”
Finally, the manager underlined the importance of the remaining two league matches: “When you’re in the fight against relegation, each match is a final. We’ve got Eibar and Getafe left. We are playing to stay in the top flight. We’ve done something difficult, but we haven’t finished. Hopefully we can finish it on Sunday at home.”
