The German coach has positively assessed the match: “I am satisfied. It was a derby. I am happy with the result and the three points.” However, he noted that they did not perform well in the second half: “We lowered our intensity in the second half, we lacked attention and concentration. We lost many balls. I didn’t like how we played.
During the match, two goals by Espanyol were disallowed for marginal offside: “This is part of the game. It’s our playing style. In the second half, we didn’t dominate as we usually do because we didn’t press as much.” Regarding this, he explained that he trusts his team and his philosophy: “We prepare very well for every team. I am not afraid and I trust the team. They are doing well. They must prove it on the pitch. The supporters are very happy with how the team plays, and that should be the case.”
The team is recovering players coming back from injury and they are performing at a very high level: “Some players have returned from injuries. There are many matches. We will make changes. After the international break, we have another one at Christmas… we need all players. Everyone wants to be a starter. But we talk to them, and they know the situation and what they can expect.” The most competitive position is midfield, and everyone is performing at very high levels: “I will play with six; they are all very good, that’s not a problem. I am very happy that they are coming back and about Dani’s performance today. I will gradually manage their minutes to avoid potential relapses.”
The coach explained the reasons for the changes in the second half: “In the second half, I didn’t want to make many changes. We lost a bit of concentration. We made many mistakes. I like to change players, I prefer to keep the goal scorers. But I wanted to take off Gavi, Fermín, Frenkie de Jong… We had two left, I could have done one more earlier.”
He highlighted the performance of Dani Olmo, who returned to the starting eleven: “He knows how to score. He was very important today. And Fermín, who played against Bayern and Real Madrid. We are very happy to have Dani back, although he is not at 100% yet.” He also spoke about Frenkie de Jong’s role: “He can play with Marc Casadó and others. There is no problem. He is an ‘8’ player, but he can also play as a ‘6’. It was not easy for the players who came on.”
He praised Marc Casadó’s high level, who has established himself as a starter: “He is doing really well. He has improved a lot. His performance is incredible. We are very happy with him. He does things very well, both in defense and in the more offensive areas.” He also wanted to dedicate some affectionate words to Héctor Fort, who was a starter today: “He is doing very well. We must be aware that he is only 18 years old. He has a lot of confidence in himself. He is ready. He knows where to improve. He is training well.”
Finally, he expressed support for Ferran Torres due to the situation Valencia is currently facing: “I understand it perfectly. It is normal when he commented, he said he was not in a position. There are much more important things than football. It is normal.”
