BARAJA: “IT WAS AN IMPORTANT VICTORY AND CAME WITH A CLEAN SHEET”

Valencia CF coach Rubén Baraja gave a press conference after the victory against Granada CF, in a rescheduled LaLiga Matchday 26 game played at the Nuevo Los Cármenes Stadium.

An important victory

“The best thing about this game is the result. There were two very different halves. The first half was, perhaps, our worst of the season. We didn't play well. good. We went into the halftime break very annoyed. I spoke with the players and their reaction was positive. We did not have the obligation to win the game because (the relegation battle) it is not our war, but we did have the obligation to do the things we have to do to win. We didn't play well in the first half. The changes also helped because there was a lot of direct play. It must also be said that sometimes you have those moments when you are lucky, the ball falls to you and you score. It was an important victory and, furthermore, came with a clean sheet. We had not won away from home for a long time and we knew that Granada CF were going to make things difficult for us.”

Europe

“We are in a good situation, but there are many points and many games remaining. To be in this position you have to keep on earning points and be consistent. We have to show that we can do that and the table will tell us what our end point is. It's time to enjoy it and focus on the next game. We came into this campaign off a very hard season. It is very difficult to maintain the consistency that the team have had: There are games in which we have played very well, others less so, but the team compete, show up and it is a gift to be able to be where we are now.”

Almeida

“He started out playing regularly, then he had this injury that left him out of the picture a bit  -and the pace of training is not the same as that which you see in games. Today he came in well. He interpreted very well what we wanted. We were being too direct, we didn't have an intermediate step between the midfielders and our forwards, we weren't finding the first safe pass after recovering possession. He gave us that pause in our play. He got the shot for the goal on target and I am happy for him. I spoke with him before the game, and told him that he should be calm, that his time would come, and I was happy for him. He was the player who made us different in the second half.”

The fans

“Our fans have to be happy and excited. In the end, that's what it's about. We work so that they get excited, so that they can see their team win, so that they see how we work hard. That's why I was upset about the first half, because in the end we weren't ourselves. When you are in this situation in the season, you have to be faithful to your principles and what brought you here -and I did not like this. But we reacted in the second half and our fans have to enjoy the moment, feel happy and be excited.”

Athletic Club vs. Mallorca in the Copa del Rey final

“In terms of Saturday's game, in the situation we are in now, we think it is favourable for Athletic to win, because the seventh placed team can go into the Conference League. But when there are two teams that have not won it for a long time, then may the best win. There is a long way to go, there are 8 games left until the season ends, and we have to maintain this level of scoring points and being consistent. We will see if we can be up there at the end."