BARAJA: "THE RESULT DOESN'T REFLECT WHAT WE SAW IN THE GAME"

Valencia CF coach, Rubén Baraja, spoke in a press conference after the LaLiga loss away to UD Las Palmas.

“The evaluation depends on how you look at it. If you look at the result, I am not happy because the result does not reflect what we saw in the match -in terms of what we wanted to work on in the game. Football has this thing where, even if you work hard in the game, the opposition can score a goal in the final stages and it almost leaves you without a reaction. That's football. It's time to get back up and think about the next game. The work from the team has been good

When we made the changes it was when we were at our best. The score was level and deadlocked and we had 2-3 situations to score a goal -and then the goal to make it 1-0 came. We improved because we put energy in, we had several situations to break through clearly. It is difficult against Las Palmas because they press onto you with a lot of players high up."

“We competed, we played a good game based on what the game asked for. We knew we had to stay focused until the end. Las Palmas were uncomfortable. At times they had more possession, but without creating danger. We had the chance for Mosquera, and for Jesús Vázquez to score, but it was Las Palmas who scored the goal.”

“We have to be self-critical and perhaps we could have been more intense in blocking the crosses. The centre-backs were marking their men and we didn't deserve to concede the goal. It deprived us of scoring at a difficult stadium to visit. Las Palmas got more of a reward than what was seen in the game. In the first meeting, we achieved the 3 points and we did not have very clear superiority either. We have to accept it and focus on the next game.”

"What we lacked was a certain thing when we recovered the ball. They are very intense, they press high, they leave a lot of space to play over the top. We were lacking in recovering the ball and having the calmness or the precision to make a pass and get it out of that zone and be able to attack the space from the other side. 

In the final stages, we had 3 or 4 good situations in which we broke through and were able to do damage, but we were not successful and football is defined by you taking advantage of the situations you have. 

The team put in a great effort and I feel bad because the effort deserved at least a point. It was a game that should have ended 0-0 and it is a shame that the final action deprived us of scoring a point.”

“When players join a team that are already playing, they have to pick up concepts and show what they can do, little-by-little. Today he got to enjoy minutes. He has to quickly accelerate the process of integrating into the team and contributing, because he is a player who can give us things that are different from what we have, and gradually he will show his level.”