Sergi Darder, Jagoba Arrasate, Antonio Sanchez and Martin Valjent reflected on our draw with CD Leganes. Find out what the players and the boss had to say below.
Sergi Darder:
On the match: "Dissatisfaction is the word, today we had to win. It's true that the team competes, two games in a row with a clean sheet. But I think that, at home, with our fans, against an opponent that is playing with so much at stake, that makes you generate little, a team that closes well and makes it difficult for you; I think the team wasn't good. We weren't accurate on the ball, we didn't understand the game well. Well, a bad game, even so, I think we deserved to win, but it wasn't a good game on our part."
On missed chances: "The point is bad. Let's see, recognising that the point is bad, we have to appreciate that nowadays it seems that if you go to Barça's ground you're going to lose and if Leganés come here you have to win, and we're seeing that it's not like that, that the league is very complicated, we have to value every point. But it's true that today we wanted all three, if we want to aspire to be in the upper reaches of the league, the team has to do more. But we have to keep the positive things, the team is still at the top, we've taken points from teams that have lost in this upper-middle zone. We'll keep the positives, even if there aren't many, clean sheets in two games in a row, the team, despite playing bad games, competes and deserves to win, but it's true that we have to be realistic and the team hasn't been at its best".
Jagoba Arrasate:
On the match: "Well, especially seeing the end, it doesn't taste like much. It was a very even game, both teams worked hard, but we didn't have much clarity. I think that, in the last stretch, with the changes, we were better, we had those three chances that it was a shame we didn't score."
On the defensive line: "We have to optimise our resources, today we also chose to play at home with this formation. It's true that, with this formation, defensively we're solid and in attack we're lacking a bit more, we have to adjust a few things. I think that, especially at the end of the game, with the changes and the change of structure, playing with two more open players like Marc and Antonio and a single striker, we were better. The pity was that we weren't effective."
On getting points: "We wanted to win, we didn't win and we can't be happy, but this is about adding up: a clean sheet, one more point... We have to keep going, there are only six games left and, well, I think we have enough reasons to continue to be hopeful."
Antonio Sánchez:
On the match: “It was bittersweet, that chance I had there… It's true that in the end we had a few chances to take the three points. But hey, we have to stay positive; we ended up scoring. It's true that we wanted the three points after the victory we got at Anoeta, but hey, we have to keep going. We're there, in those positions, everything is very open, and we're going to keep fighting.”
On chances created: “I think defensively we're still in the same line as the last game. They hardly created any chances for us, and well, in the end we had them. Sometimes you get them right and sometimes you don't, but hey, we have to focus on that, that we created them and stay positive on this path.”
Martin Valjent:
On the match: "I want to start with the positive: a clean sheet, I think we created chances to win the match, but we were also very strong defensively. It was very difficult for us to get in, to have clear chances. I think it was a very competitive game and we lacked a little bit of that, we needed to work better to be able to get forward more clearly and have the energy to win that important game. But well, I think we have to rest and focus on Tuesday because the game is already here".
On the changes: "The guys who came on gave us a huge helping hand, I think they did a great job, they came on with a lot of energy, more ideas or more impetus, and we created more of a feeling of being able to score a goal, but well. It was a little bit, I don't want to say that we got stuck, but maybe we decided the wrong play. On another day we had two chances, two goals, today we didn't have that kind of success. It's important to concede at home and to keep our hopes up because there are still six games to go."
On his playing style: "I think the coach has given us a bit of freedom. I think we've changed the way we play a little bit, also with the four players up top not playing. He demands a bit of that from me too, I try, I know that from the outside it must look very bad and it's not my thing, but well, I try, I try to give solutions, I try to find solutions, I try to give them to the team. I try, I try to provide solutions, to go forward, to create chances or, at least, to create some space for players like Sergi or Dani, who know what to do in the final third, unlike me. But, well, we try to help the team at all stages."