MADRID, 18 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Rayo Vallecano coach, Andoni Iraola, assured that they should not “disregard any point” in their goal of “achieving salvation” before facing the derby against Atlético de Madrid this Saturday (9:00 p.m.) at the Vallecas stadium.
“It’s always important to win and get good results, but it’s true that when a break comes, we all like to end a good game with a good result, because we train better. We have eleven games left and we have to play them all to the fullest. Atlético de Madrid is the current champion and is on a magnificent run of results, in the end they have won the last four league games and they have just eliminated United at Old Trafford”, recalled the Rayista coach.
“It’s a team that is scoring a lot of goals away from home and having very positive results. We also have to compete against this type of team, just like we did the other day with Sevilla, because you never know where the points that will give you are going to be. give the objective. We are in that search to get those points to achieve the objective and we do not have to disregard any point and we have to fight with whoever touches us, which in this case is Atlético de Madrid”, he said.
Asked about his rival, Iraola does not believe that the colchoneros are more vulnerable defensively than other seasons. “It fits more, but not because it has changed or is defending worse. I think it is the second team that scores the most goals, it reaches fifty-something, the ones that score the most away from home. In the end, this is the balance and it is working out positively “, he stated.
“Atlético is achieving high-level victories away from home: El Sadar, Villamarín, the other day at Old Trafford… and winning with a certain authority. They have many alternatives and an elite coach. The other day, they didn’t start the game well game and suddenly they make four adjustments and come to dominate the situation. We expect a very good team, which is what Atlético has been in recent years. We have to give a very good version to compete with Atlético”, he added.
“We have to compete well, for us it’s to follow the line a bit that we had against Sevilla. Atlético doesn’t concede much, they force you to defend well. In the end we have to neutralize their threats a bit. Then, what we always say: The football are the areas. Not making mistakes, or at least not making them with goal value and giving our strikers options to punish them”, he recalled.
Regarding the berries, Iraola commented that “those injured are the same as the previous time: Unai, Esteban (Saveljich) and Falcao”. “Regarding Martín (Merquelanz) it is a complex issue. We do not expect to have him in the near future. He has started to do more things, but it is a considerable injury and it is going little by little. I do not know if we are going to be able to count on him this season before it ends. You have to burn stages, but it’s not close to being with the group,” he revealed.
Lastly, when asked about the state of the lawn, Iraola does not know its state “exactly”. “The gardeners, LaLiga, have recommended us not to train there during the week and try to get it to the best possible shape for this Saturday because it interests us all. In March or April the pitches tend to get better, it’s not so cold anymore and in spring they usually get well and I trust that little by little we can have a lawn in better condition”, he concluded.