Raúl Albiol underlined the need to be intelligent and not make mistakes against Atalanta BC
Villarreal CF defender Raúl Albiol appeared alongside Unai Emery to analyse the upcoming UEFA Champions League group stage match against Atalanta BC (Wednesday, 9pm CET). Here is what the defender had to say:
The feelings are better than the results
“We’re going into the match in a better place than the results suggest. We’ve got good feelings. We’ve put in good performances, but the results haven’t accompanied them. We need to continue working like we’ve been working. Tomorrow, it will be a tough game. We know the tempo that Atalanta will demand of us all over the pitch, and the difficulty they will give us with the duels. We’re expecting a great game and an important game. It will be 90 intense minutes where we need to give our all and try and fulfil our objective.”
An intense opposition
“Those who know me know that, for a number of years, I’ve been saying that the toughest team to face in Italy is Atalanta because of the intensity they have and the tempo too. They’ve had the same coach for a number of years and they’re on an upwards trajectory in Europe. We’ve got a difficult match ahead of us at a tough stadium with a great atmosphere. We need to prepare ourselves physically and mentally.”
No room for speculation
“If it’s the 88th minute and we’re drawing, we’ll be able to start thinking about the draw. The team needs to take to the pitch and look for the victory. We need to be brave and go for the win. We have the mentality to go for the win. They’re a team that can drive you mad during the match, and we need to be intelligent. The team that is more clinical will come out on top”
A big reward
“The most recent games are the games where we’ve run most throughout the season. We’re lacking just a few things to get the results, and we’re trying to work on that. We’re on the right path in Europe. We will take to the pitch to try and enjoy it as most as possible, while being focused on trying to get into the Round of 16.”
Gerard, a differential player
“We all know what a good player he is. I don’t need to say how important he is for Villarreal. He gives something else to the team, and makes a difference. In tight matches, having a player like that is very important. We need to help him to feel comfortable.”
Recovering quickly
“We had bad moments in LaLiga last year, and we picked ourselves up in the Europa League. Everything goes very quickly, with games every three days and we can’t get frustrated in December. We need to wipe our mind clean and focus on what’s ahead. We have a great objective that a few years ago we’d have loved to have had.”
