The Villarreal head coach underlined the importance of this Monday’s match against RCD Mallorca at the Estadio de la Cerámica (9pm CET)
Marcelino García Toral, Villarreal CF head coach, appeared in front of the media this lunchtime to analyse the importance of the match this Monday (9pm CET) against RCD Mallorca at the Estadio de la Cerámica. It is a game against a direct opponent in the battle for Europe, in which the Submarine will try and get the three points to stay in a good position in the fight.
Opposition analysis
“Mallorca are having a great season. They’ve already won five matches away from home. We know that they’re a really tough opponent to face. We’re starting the second half of the season at home and we need to be really consistent in this stage of the campaign. We’ve had a lot of games where we haven’t won recently, and we want to give the fans some joy. There are three big points up for grabs. Mallorca have a lot of quality. They’re a team who start their matches well, but we will also have to take the initiative. The match will be tight and will be decided by small details, which was the case in Palma de Mallorca. We’re try and have more chances than them. We’ve had a good week in training and hopefully we can top it off with a win.”
Returning players
“Ramon Terrats, Nicolas Pepe and Ayoze are going to be back. It’s good news that we are getting players back, especially in attack. After so much time off the pitch, especially with muscle injuries, we need to take precaution with the players returning. We’re happy with our performance in San Sebastián. We’ll try and be fair and put the team that we think will help us from the start, and then the one that during the game gives us solutions to win a very important match.”
Performing at the highest level
“The second half of the season is always tougher than the first. There are less chances as each game goes by and three points are needed to fulfil the objectives. There isn’t much between many teams. We need to respect every opponent. In this second half of the season, we need to step up. We will try and concede fewer goals than we have so far. We need to be more consistent and make the most of our attacking potential. If we perform at our highest level against Mallorca, we will be able to win.”
Being solid in defence
“There may be some defensive changes. It’s a very different match than the one in San Sebastián. We will see what decisions we take. Against Real Sociedad, we were very happy with the defensive aspect. We didn’t give them goalscoring opportunities, although a counter-attack ended up costing us. We were very solid. We need to repeat that solidity, and get annoyed whenever the opposition get a goalscoring opportunity against us. We’re a solid team, and we need to concede less at home.”
The fight for Europe
“We believe in the players that we’ve got, in their ability and their attitude. We’ve had a bad run, especially at home. Small details have been deciding matches and we need to look forward. The most important thing for us is that we have a good quad, and now we have more options than in recent games. We know what we’ve done badly in defence, but the most important thing is that we have the ability to fight to be in the European spots at the end of the season.”
