The Villarreal CF manager says it won’t be simple to beat Sparta
It will take maximum concentration. This Thursday Villarreal play the first leg of their UEFA Europa League Quarter-final clash against AC Sparta Prague in El Madrigal (9:05pm CET). A tough opponent that will put the Yellows to the test. In fact, Marcelino warned of the Czech team’s potential: “Sparta are a side that will cause us a lot of problems. We can’t think it’s going to be easy because if it were they wouldn’t be in the Quarter-finals of this competition. We are the favourites, but we will make sure that we don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the tie is already won”.
According to the manager, AC Sparta Prague play very differently to their last opponents: “We expect them to be a difficult rival. Sparta play differently to our last opponents. They take advantage of the opportunities they create in front of goal and they’re playing strong at the back. We have to counteract their strengths in these areas. Goals have the final say in any tie and so we have to be really alert at all times. The first game is not decisive, but it makes it easier or harder to get through to the next round. We have to be solid at the back as we were against Napoli and Leverkusen. Sparta play with five defenders, they pressure hard and transition quickly getting numbers both forward and behind the ball well. They’re going to make us play to a high tempo. We have to get used to counteracting them so we can overcome them”.
Marcelino also acknowledged that the Yellows are very excited about the competition: “We couldn’t be more excited or confident. We must respect them completely as we have been doing until now. From now all we can do is make sure we play well for 180 minutes. There’s no doubt that we’re a difficult rival for any team”.
Mario: “It’s going to be a really challenging tie”
The other speaker at the official UEFA Europa league press conference was Mario Gaspar Pérez. The right back from Alicante stated that they must apply themselves maximally to get through to the Semi-finals: “It’s going be a really challenging tie. Sparta come to us after knocking out teams that were favourites over them. We hope to play well to get a good result”.
Mario also spoke about how enthusiastic the team is about getting so far in the competition: “We’re so excited because a few years ago we were just a step away from the Final after we were knocked out by Porto. We’re all really motivated because these opportunities don’t come round often and so you have to make the most of them because you don’t know when you’ll get another chance like this. Not long ago we were playing in the Second Division and so to be able to fight to play in a European Semi-final is amazing for us. We have to seize this opportunity”.
