First team

BERIZZO: "IN THE SECOND HALF WE FIND A RHYTHM WHICH IS DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH"

19/09/2017

The coach said Sevilla will not have a fixed starting eleven and that rotations allow the side to play better than opponents in the second half

Eduardo Berizzo headed to the press room of the Training Village to talk about Nervionenses' next league game against UD Las Palmas. The Argentinian coach seemed pensive when evaluating the style and form of the side. Asked when we would see a standard starting eleven, he confirmed never and took the opportunity to defend his rotations - something he saw as beneficial to the side in the second halves of games, when Sevilla have shown their best form in the current campaign.

"Sevillistas recognise their side whoever plays, there isn't a fixed side, there is a squad of 25 players where every one is necessary. Every game requires specific, instantaneous and quick changes because we come out of one game in Girona directly into another. Tomorrow we're facing an opponent who plays good football. We have to pressure them very well and do them harm... We put together the starting elevens always analysing fatigue and chances... I was happy in the Girona game at times, in the second half we played well and I think in the second half we tend to find a rhythm that is difficult for opponents to sustain. That has to do with people being well rested and fresh. That's not the reason we win games but it's one of the qualities the team has that proves them strong. We ended up hurting our opponents because of that physical boost that substitutes give," he said.

"We ended up hurting our opponents because of that physical boost that substitutes give”

Berizzo admitted the team has not been able to find continuity they should in dominating matches: "We exchange control of the match with our opponents. In Liverpool we started by dominating, we lost it and then got it back again... We want our control of the match to be consistent, from start to end. When it's interchanged, we have to make sure we use our possession well... In the first half in Girona for example we didn't have that depth of possession, in the second we were able to push forward and we put four strikers one on one with the keeper... Tomorrow will be a difficult game because they're a side who play good football."

Questioned about Celta and the dizzying football they played, the coached assured that Sevilla aspired to the same idea of football, though he explained that the characteristics and qualities of the players is the determinant factor: "Sometimes the qualities footballers have give the idea to the coach in the first place. It suggests a style of play, of intensity, speed, directness and dynamic play... The qualities the Sevilla players have make you think there should be more possession, control and not so much acceleration. At Celta we were more back and forth, more direct and here the idea is more patient building, but more secure... Here our team packs more of a punch and doesn't need to create as many chances... My idea is that I hope we are able to see a dynamic team that presses, but the speed of that process isn't something I control."

"Here we build chances slower and safer... but this team packs more of a punch"

Moving on to familiar names, Berizzo was optimistic about both Pizarro and Nolito, the two players injured for the Girona game: "Pizarro is good to go from tomorrow and is going to train with the team tomorrow. Nolito, Thursday. They're the only who will be ruled out on account of physical problems."

One player who is available, and better every game, is Luis Muriel, who the Sevilla coach is expecting a lot from. In that regard he recognised that a weight "might" have been lifted from his shoulders after his goal in Girona, or at least "that's what his celebration suggested. For a goal-scorer, to score is a part of his momentum. That he scored and played a very good match has to fill him with confidence. He shouldn't stop imposing himself, whether he scores or doesn't. He's a dynamic player, very powerful and when we put him with the goal in front of him it makes a difference."

He left open the possibility that Muriel and Ben Yedder could play together: "The two could play together, even for the game against we looked at that possibility because they play with five at the back. Luis can play on the wing and Ben Yedder could play as an attacking midfielder, where they would connect well."

"Muriel is a dynamic player, very powerful and when we put him with the goal in front of him it makes a difference."

Continuing on familiar names, he was asked about Pablo Sarabia and the qualities the Madrid-born midfielder can bring to the team: "He's a fast player, who finds things with his vision and his good physical attributes... The plays he creates are of all kinds, the flick here against Eibar, the ball in Girona to give Muriel a one on one with the keeper... He's a footballer capable of doing a lot of good things."

Asked about Vitolo and his visit to Nervión, he assured that the changing-room "hasn't talked about it, we have to concentrate on who we are, who we have, Vitolo belongs to another side, that's it... We play against an opponent with speed, intensity, we need to kill the game quickly and make sure they can't sustain our game."

"I ask my footballers to focus on what we have to do, we play against Las Palmas, not on another player"

He continued: "I didn't manage to cross paths with Vitolo because he had more holiday than the rest. He will have his reasons for leaving Sevilla. The methods of doing so could have been different. The methods weren't the best. I ask my footballers to focus on what we have to do, we play against Las Palmas, not on another player. I ask the fans to be smart and behave well with the way they show their upset at the way he left. Not just for the threat of a sanction but to leave it behind. Sevilla is what it is, there's a mysticism and pride in the institution. We have to win the match tomorrow all together, some on the field and others willing us on from off it."