Corberán: "I saw attitude and commitment from the players"

Valencia CF coach Carlos Corberán spoke after the 1-1 draw with Sevilla FC in his post-match press conference

The game

“I saw my team compete in the way I want them to . From the start, I think the team made Sevilla FC uncomfortable. In the first half, I liked the way the team did in defence; we were able to defend high, press them and provoke them to attack. We got the intensity, attitude and energy right. In attack we controlled the ball, more so in our own half. Apart from the handling of some moments with ball recovery in the final stages, I'm satisfied with the first half. In the second half, we competed again, they changed their formation and we were able to find advantages and continue to circulate the ball and dominate possession. After we put ourselves in front, we defended more. Gayà's injury, due to the blow he suffered in the first half, forced us to change the formation, using a line of 5 and defending deep. Unfortunately, we were unable to maintain the advantage that would have given us three important points.”

The performance

“Overall, the team competed collectively and had a good game. I saw the attitude I want to see from my team, the dedication and commitment. In the final action, Sevilla prevented us from winning the game. I saw a lot of effort and commitment from everyone. The team grew and took a step forward, but it was not enough to take the three points.”

The season

“The numbers from the first half of the season put us in the position we are in in the table, and the key is to improve those numbers. The team are going to fight until the end and that is very clear to me. We are going to have difficult moments, we know we have a challenge ahead, but we have an objective and commitment. We are going to fight until the end to achieve the target. The key is to maintain our mental strength. We have to keep taking steps forward, what I can take away from today is the attitude, personality and desire of the players. If we keep fighting like this, we will get better results. We will never give up. We will always keep fighting and that is what we are going to do.”

Gayà

“He was fouled in the first half and has a cut on the front of his foot. It was a cut that would have prevented any other player from continuing in the match, but Gayà's commitment to the team and to the role he has in it could not be greater, and he stayed on despite having suffered a serious injury to his foot that stopped him from playing at his normal level.”

Players coming on as substitutes

“I didn’t notice any lack of preparation on the part of any of the players. Unfortunately, we conceded the goal before we made the changes. I could have made changes earlier or not done so, but I didn’t see anything negative in terms of their predisposition. I liked the attitude of my team. We have to keep taking steps forward and we will always demand the maximum from ourselves.”