The head coach expects a really tough game against Betis
Villarreal CF head coach Marcelino García Toral has assured that his team is looking forward to this Sunday’s game against Real Betis (9pm CET, Benito Villamarín) in an attempt to get back to their best after the European defeat.
“We have the chance to find out in the next game if the one we played on Thursday was an accident. We want to recover to get back into the positive dynamic we were in,” commented Marcelino.
For the Submarine coach, beating Betis at home is a nice challenge: “Betis are a long way ahead in the table. They have lost very few games. In the whole competition, at their ground, they’ve only lost to Barça. They are a difficult team to face, and they are having a very good year. They are solid and play good football. It’s going to be a difficult game for us, but we have to face it with the aim of recovering the good feelings and results we’ve been getting in the last seven league games. We want to make sure Thursday’s game was just a bad day.”
In terms of analysing the opposition, Marcelino highlighted Betis’ qualities: “They’re an organised team with a 4-2-3-1 formation and I think they’ve had a very good winter transfer window, bringing in players that have increased their capacity and also their diversity in terms of options. They have made some good signings, especially Fornals who is giving them a great performance. Then they have a very good squad despite the loss of Isco. Fekir is very influential. Betis have a very good playing system and a very good head coach. They’ve had the same idea for a long time and it’s going to be tough. If we can maintain our best level like we did in San Sebastian we can also show that we are a good team.”
To conclude, he stressed that the key to success will be in the penalty areas: “The decisive factor is always the success in the penalty areas. That’s what will decide the game. There could be moments in the match when Betis could be superior to us as they are playing at home. If we are effective in our area and do damage in theirs we can get a positive result. We have to try to implement our way of defending and our way of attacking. If we do that more successfully than our opponents, we’ll get a positive result.”
