Marcelino was happy with the win, although he acknowledged that defensive errors had put the victory in danger
Villarreal head coach Marcelino García Toral spoke to the media to analyse the continental victory over Panathinaikos (3-2): “We can only take the good news, which is that we managed to win. Although we can’t be satisfied with just that. We have to analyse the less good things. We were in control, but we had some important defensive lapses that we have to avoid. The second goal really pissed me off. It’s an obvious mistake that we have to correct.”
In the same way, the Asturian coach went on to focus on the defensive problems: “We were well organised and conceded almost nothing during the first part of the game. However, during the final stretch, we put the victory in danger on several occasions. These moves are a threat to our peace of mind and we must avoid them.”
Marcelino also pointed out that the three wins give the team confidence: “Winning three games in a row has to reaffirm you in what you do. The game has been good. We have combined well. The goals were very good. We had more continuity than against Osasuna. When you have the game so well under control, you can have moments of relaxation. They score and you can see ghosts. We have to avoid that. We have to recover and rest because in three days we have an important game again.”
Finally, the coach believes that it’s still too early to draw conclusions about the team: “We’ve played three games. Eight days since then. It’s not enough time to make many assessments. On the other hand, we can say that we are satisfied. With the game, the results and also with the predisposition and attitude of the players. But we shouldn’t be satisfied. We know that these guys can offer more and we can improve as a team. When we have had more time, two or three months, we will be in a position to know if we are capable of progressing and being more competitive.”
