The Villarreal head coach hailed his side’s hard work as they overcame Girona
It wasn’t easy. Unai Emery recognised that, as the Villarreal head coach hailed his team’s hard work, after they overcame Girona by the smallest of margins to move on in the Copa del Rey: “I’m satisfied with my team’s hard work. They responded really well. Today, we all had to dig in, and the team knew how to stay firm. Now, we have four days for recovery, ahead of the game against Real Sociedad. We’re capable of continuing with this demanding rhythm. In the first half, we were better, with clear goalscoring opportunities,” he said.
For Emery, the high number of games does not affect the team’s morale. “It’s a positive thing. We’re maintaining an important level of consistency, because there’s a lot being demanded of us. The Copa del Rey excites us, and we want to continue to take steps forward in it. In this game, we weren’t in control like we wanted, but you have to hail the opponent’s performance too.”
Regarding the Yellows’ chances in the Copa del Rey, Emery underlined that it is necessary to go step by step: “There are teams with a history in this competition. We can aspire to compete against every team. We need to continue with our journey, as we have done up until now.”
