Unai Emery underlined the importance of getting a good result against Rayo Vallecano to get closer to the aim of qualifying for Europe (Thursday, 8pm CEST)
Villarreal CF head coach Unai Emery appeared in front of the media to analyse this Thursday’s game against Rayo Vallecano at Vallecas (8pm CEST).
Spirit and mentality to face Rayo Vallecano
“At this level, the team spirit is important, and the inertia from the good performances in LaLiga and the Champions League. We need to find a performance level and mental capacity to play tomorrow’s match, Sunday’s game, and the following.”
Fully in the fight for Europe
“We’re already at Matchday 36. At this stage of the season, the table tells the truth and we are. At the moment, we’re seventh and we have the chance to fight to be in the Conference League and the Europa League. There are ten days left and three matches to finish the season and we need to fight for our aim.”
Villarreal being at their best away from home
“There are positive references such as Getafe and Granada. The team wants to find its best version away from home. That’s the objective we’re setting ourselves. We want to find the right performances and consistency away from the Estadio de la Cerámica. At home, we’ve been at our best, and strong with our performance style and results. We’ve found it harder away from home, but our challenge is to overcome the difficulties.”
Rayo Vallecano, a team with a lot of strengths
“They’re now safe. They’re having a magnificent season. They’re a great team and they have a lot of versatility. They’re strong in the duels, they can take you on out wide, they also have quality and physicality in the middle of the pitch. Andoni Iraola is a great manager. I like Rayo Vallecano a lot, they play a great style of football.”
Being strong in defence and showing personality
“We have to put in a performance where we’re showing a lot of personality, adapting to the opposition. We need to be capable of defending well, and showing personality to be able to win the duels and take the match to where we want to be. They’re a team who compete very well and tomorrow we need to adapt.”
