Ilais Akhomach, Dani Parejo and Sant Comesana struck for Villarreal, with Marcelino admitting Parejo's penalty was undeserved.
Day of emotions:
“After the minute of silence and the great applause that we experienced, a very emotional moment that I wish we hadn’t had to go through, the match started and we knew that we were working hard. We know what we have to do. We played a very bad first half, far from what we can and should demand of ourselves. And we played a very good second half. From then on we achieved a victory, perhaps a big one, but a well-deserved one. Also, we didn’t concede for the first time, we knew we were close to achieving it, but it’s good for us. We’re leaving for two weeks and the victory is also very good for us emotionally.”
The two injured:
“Kiko’s injury is a muscle injury, we will see how serious it is with the tests. We are very worried about Ilias. It is a knee injury and they are doing tests, hopefully the diagnosis will be as minor as possible. Hopefully it is milder than we thought, hopefully it is not what we always thought, which is the damn cruciate ligament.”
Pau Navarro:
“Pau has been very good. We have to congratulate him, give him congratulations. He already did very well in Barcelona. Today he did it with a lot of minutes ahead of him. He is a player who has exchanged his position as a centre-back and a full-back in the lower divisions, with us he plays as a full-back and sometimes as a centre-back. He has been super serious, winning duels and effective in defensive and offensive tasks. He is an extraordinary boy, in terms of intelligence and concentration, fabulous. He could have come on at any time, Kiko already had four yellow cards and we are very satisfied that he has done so well.”
Improvement in the second half:
“We have provided solutions to the ball-holder, we have been mobile and we have been more intense and judicious. We put pressure on the loss, we brought more balls into the area... that is to say: we have done what we have been doing. It is normal not to be winning if we play like in the first half. The 1-0 we had was not fair. A success by Ilias gave us the advantage. They had control and we were far from what we should demand of ourselves.”
Was it a penalty?
"The penalty play can be compared to the penalty we received against Getafe. I don't think Getafe's penalty was a penalty as I said and neither does this one. I think the penalty has to be obvious, not little penalties. This one, like that one, is more of a little penalty than a penalty in favor. I don't like to see it either against or in favor. I think my view is clear."
They won't sign a full-back:
“It's too early. If we get injured at full-back and we put Pau in, it's because he's our main bet. Kambwala can play there, because he's already done so, so we have those two options. Because of the way we play, we don't need a specific full-back with a track record. We need a Foyth or a Kiko who has adapted perfectly, despite being another type of full-back. We're fine with this, there are solutions. We should congratulate those who have come in because they've added positivity.”
Thinking big:
“Dreaming is free. I think we have the arguments to be a good team. Sometimes we are and sometimes we need to be more consistent. Today's game serves as proof of that. Overall we are a good team, we have the footballing and mental arguments, such as attitude, to be a good team. I am not at all satisfied with the first half, but there was a reaction in the second that I am proud of. That must be the basis.”