Marcelino proud of the competitiveness and good performance shown against Tottenham

Villarreal CF head coach Marcelino García Toral explained after the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Yellow Submarine’s first Champions League match of the season that, while he accepted it, he considered the result unfair after what was seen on the pitch: “When you lose, you are never happy, especially when you look at what happened during the game. The defeat is not fair, but football is about goals and in this case Tottenham scored one more than us. I am very proud of the team’s competitive level and of how we came to this stadium. We leave sad because it is a shame not to have picked up any points here, but in football what you get one day, another day can be taken away.”

With regard to the image shown by his players, the Asturian coach was also clear. “I am proud of how we competed. In the first two games we were clinical, and in the last two we have been lacking that. We had our chances, but the quality of the opponents also determines how much control you have. The only thing that bothers me is the result, because we created the clearest opportunities.”

In addition, the Villarreal head coach also expressed his surprise at some of the referee’s decisions, particularly in terms of bookings. “We all saw those cards. The second one (the foul on Mikautadze when he was the last man through on goal) has no explanation. I don’t understand how an international referee, officiating a Champions League match, in such a clear action cannot show a red card. The first one (Simons’ second yellow) is also obvious because he had no chance of playing the ball, but the referee gave it and we have to accept it.”