Marcelino stresses the importance of the three points despite the ‘strange’ nature of the game against Leganés
Villarreal head coach Marcelino García Toral highlighted the importance of the win against Leganés in a match that he described as unusual: “It was a very difficult match. The match was strange from the start. We both did very little in attack and it was a 2-2 draw at half-time. In the second half we were much better, but Leganés were badly affected by the sending-offs. In today’s football, sending offs are almost definitive and although it was difficult, we needed this victory.”
The Yellows coach pointed out that it has been a difficult month, but fortunately they are closing 2024 with a win. “We’ve had a complicated December with games that have slipped away from us when we almost had it all wrapped up. We’ve conceded a lot and our opponents have penalised us a lot. But it’s football and we’ll try to improve those figures to stay in the top half of the table.”
As for the two key men of the match, Marcelino emphasised both Barry’s good performance and that of Yeremy Pino: “Yeremy was, in my opinion, the best player of the match. In the first half he was already the most consistent and the most influential: in the second half he continued in the same way and he is a player who is coming back from a long injury and who has been really good.”
Regarding the French striker, he said: “Barry scored three goals today, almost as many as in the whole of LALIGA so far. He’s very young, he’s only 22 and it’s his first experience in a big league. We have to be patient but we are satisfied with his performance and his evolution. If we can get him playing we know that he is very effective in the penalty area.”
