Valencia CF coach Javi Gracia reflected on the 0-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid, underlining the tremendous effort put in by his side in the LaLiga Matchday 11 fixture.

Good work by the team

“I want to praise the work that my team did today. We conceded an own goal and I think that we deserved a draw. However, justice in football comes in the result. We were consistent and disciplined. These games are decided by small details. I’m very happy with the great job that the team did, but not with the result.”

Planning for the game

“The plan was to try to win the game. We were going to try a high press, but we knew that there would be minutes in which they would peg us back, and we would have to be strong inside the box. We started well and we did a very good job defensively. In the first half we brought the ball out and had a few shots. The opposition didn’t have too many clear chances. In the second half we believed that by working in the same way we would generate more opportunities, but that wasn’t the case.”

First half chances

“We felt that Atletico Madrid might make some changes in their starting XI. We didn’t get our prediction of their lineup right, but we more or less knew that they would maintain the same shape. Them bringing in Lodi was more unexpected, but the rest of the lineup was what we had expected. In the first half we had more chances to go forward. That was when we should have opened up the game in our favour. Later on, we found it harder.”

The defensive situation

“We are going to see the extent of Hugo Guillamón’ss injury in order to evaluate things. All signs point to it being a muscle proble. In terms of who we have available, there is Gabriel Paulista and Mangala. Diakhaby i son the way back and we will see this week if he is available for the next game. We know the youth team players, some of them train with us and we know that we can use them when necessary.”

Confidence in Kang In

“I’m very happy with Kang In. He is playing well and training very well. I try to make the best decisions for the game. Every player deserves to play more. However, Manu Vallejo has been playing very well, as has Maxi Gómez even though he is coming back from an injury. Every player is ready to help. I know that I can count on Kang In, and that when he come in he will do well. My decisions are made to give value to all of my players, and in search of balance.”