Valencia CF23 September 2025

Corberán: “We felt very close to the three points, and this should be a stimulus”

Press conference after the game against RCD Espanyol

Carlos Corberán spoke to the media after the game against RCD Espanyol, reviewing the 2-2 draw in Barcelona.

The result

The team were superior to RCD Espanyol in the first half. We were able to overcome their pressure and improve our play. We were aggressive in defence, but it's true that at the end of the first half, they overcame us and created chances. Afterward, we adjusted better defensively and managed to get ahead after their goal with an immediate reaction, and I liked that. We played very high up, which caused us problems at the back, and in the final minutes, we had chances on the counterattack. I saw the team resist, overcome difficult moments, and despite the volume of chances we were subjected to, we only conceded from practically the last move.

The effect of a possible foul not being given

Everything forms part of the game, from the first minute to the last. You never know what action might change a game, and each one is important. For me, once you've seen the game, you can review and correct every action, but you can't avoid it. With that dubious foul, we still have to take responsibility for conceding two goals from set pieces. We need to defend from those situations better, regardless of whether it's a foul or not. We conceded two goals from set pieces today, and we need to take the same steps we've taken offensively in other aspects. We weren't able to neutralise actions we should have done better and that would have earned us three points.

Winning away from Mestalla

We have to persist, persist, and persist when we do good things, and hold on when certain moments arise away from home. The difficulty always increases away from home. The team won't stop competing; we have to keep growing. We felt the three points were very close, and that should serve as motivation. We're close, and we must keep making progress, both home and away.

Defending from set pieces

The line has to be adjusted. We thought we were too far forward, but we adjusted. We defended well in terms of height, but we weren't able to prevent the first and second shots. Normally, when the ball goes past you, you lose the reference point behind you. The height of the line was adjusted, but in the fight for the ball we lost out on taking all three points.

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