Back
“We compete against our ambition”
QSF points out that Eibar is a team that plays very strong in the first minutes.
Espanyol is facing one of the best teams this season: Eibar. In the first round the white and blue squad was able to draw after losing 0-3 in the half time. Quique Sánchez Flores knows that it will be a very difficult game.
For Quique the first minutes are very important. “It is a team that starts at very high pulsations. They knock easily: they play long balls, direct football and they don’t need much to hurt you. You know it but they are capable of doing it always. We must try to keep them far away from our area; we can’t defend all the match. We must try to do a complete match and serious as we did against Betis, Málaga or Alavés. For me, all matches are important. We compete against our ambition”.
The match against Eibar was the beginning of a good spell of results. “In that match we were growing slowly. We found a strange and unexpected result at half time and that forced us to show our character, courage and rebellion. We finished that match with the feeling that the team had motives to believe in what we were doing. Our first 15 minutes were very good. I have analysed different matches of Eibar but I am also looking that match because there are things that may be interesting. However the two teams have changed”.
In recent matches, the team is receiving more goals. Therefore, Quique Sánchez Flores thinks that some of them were avoidable. “We are very happy when we have a clean sheet because it makes us stronger and forces us to score fewer goals. We analyse the goals and I think that we could have received fewer with more attention. However, the most important thing is that the difference between goals scored and received is positive”.
One of the best news of the week is Víctor Sánchez’s comeback. “He has been training with the group since Tuesday. He is recovered from his injury but he is not ready to play 90 minutes yet. His comeback is great news for us”. About Piatti’s absence he said that “we have attacking players but we don’t have players with his figures. It is not easy to replace him but there are players that can do it”.