MENDILIBAR: "THE IDEA IS TO WIN TO TAKE A STEP FORWARD"

José Luis Mendilibar spoke at the pre-match press before our second European match against PSV Eindhoven. He first spoke about what he expects for tomorrow's match: "I expect a closely contested and competitive match against a team that has won every game in their league and is also scoring goals, but the Champions League is a different competition. We come with the aim of taking all three points."

When asked about PSV's form, which is strong in the Dutch league, the Basque coach highlighted, "They lost by quite a few goals in the first match, and we drew. The favourite, theoretically, is Arsenal because of the Premier League and the signings they can make. We believe that PSV didn't start well, but it's the first game, just like when we faced Lens at a very early stage in the competition. I think both teams' idea will be to win to take that step forward." Regarding the team's situation, Mendilibar also mentioned, "There have been two different competitions in a very short time. One is until the transfer window closes and then the other starts when the market closes, where people are more focused, and from there, we started to improve as a team and individually. We haven't won away from home, but I think we've competed well and are close to being able to win it."

"If we do well, we'll concede few goals and be more accurate in front of the goal."

.Returning to assessing the home team, he was asked about their goal-scoring ability, to which he responded, "They have a very good team. If they have scored so many goals and won every game in the league, it's a good sign of what kind of team they are and the individual talents they have. PSV are well-organized, with good players who have had a very good season so far, even though they conceded many goals in their first European match." And regarding the improvement compared to the first match, the coach indicated, "I think we played well against Lens until they equalized, and then they were better than us. We've gained more confidence, I believe we are more ourselves, and I want us to approach the style of play we had last season. If we do it well, we'll concede few goals and be more accurate in front of the goal."

On a more general note, he referred to the team's prospects in the group: "Our objective has always been to finish in the top four in the league and try to advance from the group stage of the Champions League, although we know that this is very challenging because in the end, all teams strengthen themselves and put in their best effort to win every match. We have players who can compete in all competitions, and we have a squad to spread out the minutes, which I believe will help us throughout the season." To conclude, he spoke about the playing possibilities for En-Nesyri, whom he doesn't rule out, as well as the emergence of Dodi Lukebakio: "Lukebakio gives us something different from what we had. Depth, directness into the box ... he's doing well, getting involved and taking shots, which is important, and the team needs goals from players who can arrive from the back."