The Mini Submarine head coach underlines the importance of being solid without the ball at El Plantío (Monday, 9pm CEST)
Villarreal B head coach, Miguel Álvarez, appeared at the press conference ahead of the match against Burgos CF, corresponding to Gameweek 38 of the 2022/23 LaLiga SmartBank season, which will take place on Monday 1st May at 9pm CEST at El Plantío.
Here are the standout declarations he made:
The team’s current situation
“The team is in great shape physically, emotionally and tactically. We’re in great shape, looking forward to Monday to compete, as it’s been a long week, and to play a great game.”
What sort of match to expect
” They are a team that are difficult at home, they play with a lot of support from their fans. They are very demanding with their direct and wide play. We have to get on the ball without the ball in direct play and second balls, but the team will compete very well”
The keys to the match
“It’s a team that makes you play in a low block because they’re very deep. You have to dominate the moment without the ball because they put in a lot of crosses and have a lot of personality on the ball. If we just defend, we’re dead. We have to defend with the ball and make them run after it. We mustn’t forget that this is a team that is having a phenomenal season.”
A match that will go down to small details
“They are conceding more goals now. They had a phenomenal first half and the solid base of that first half was that they conceded very few goals. Here when they came here they didn’t let us do much of anything. They have very solid players and a good individual version. The head coach has implemented his idea and they are taking it all the way. They deserve more points than they have, like us, that’s what this division is all about. I think that’s what’s happening to Burgos. They’re in that moment, like us, that by doing as much as they did before, you get less back.”
A tight table
“This division is beautiful at all times of the season. It’s Gameweek 38 and Burgos are still playing to get into the promotion places and we have to get away from the bottom. But if we beat them, we’ll be just one point behind. I want to look up. I’m trying to find tools for the lads to compete and our requirement has to be to go to Burgos’ ground knowing that it’s a four-point game. We would be one point behind them with the head-to-head record won.”
