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González: "The game ended in the best possible way"
The coach's verdict on the first win of the campaign
RCD Espanyol coach Manolo González gave great importance to the victory achieved against Rayo Vallecano in the last minute, thanks to Alejo Veliz's goal.
“The victory helps a lot considering the situation of the club and where we come from," he said in his post-match press conference. "We also had to win, to help the confidence of the players. We suffered a lot, but the game ended in the best possible way. We deserved to win, but we had chances to win before the 90th minute."
"They deserved it and it is to their credit. Now we have two weeks before the match against Alavés and we will work on our pressing, which we are finding difficult. We have a better team than last year, but it is harder for us to steal the ball. We have to improve in that aspect,” he summarised.
González indicated that the psychological factor will be “very important, besides the footballing aspect. We are coming off a very difficult year and I think we have to be positive. Victories help us to believe more and improve the atmosphere.”
The coach continued by saying that “this will be a team similar to the one I had in Badalona, very attacking and very dynamic. The team have many good skills and we must take advantage of them so that they continue to grow.”
Finally, he highlighted the role of Alejo Veliz.
“We did not have the skills that Veliz gives us. He allows us to pass the ball and send it out to players on the wing. He allows us to play directly, he helps with set pieces… Alejo gives us many pluses. It is important that he scores goals. Strikers live off goals. He is a player with a great future in European football, but he has to go through everything that comes with his youth.”