ALONSO: "I REALLY DID NOT LIKE OUR FIRST-HALF PERFORMANCE"

Diego Alonso gave an honest account on the draw against Celta Vigo. "I really did not like our performance in the first half, potentially the worst we've played since I arrived. It was as if we needed to concede in order to wake up. We responded well initially but then started playing badly again. We improved in the second half, we created more chances and had more control. The pitch was poor, there was strong wind making conditions difficult, and we were a goal behind, but we continued to look for a way back into the game, and finally we managed to find an equaliser. We had opportunities to win the game, as did they. A draw is better than a loss, but we have a lot to improve on."

When asked about the team's slow starts, having been down early on against Cádiz as well, our head coach responded "it is something we need to work on and improve. It is a glass half empty glass half full sort of situation. Playing away from home and a goal down for a large part of the game, we managed to equalise and secure a point. It shows the determination and the energy of the players. But there were a lot of negatives which we will need to improve on."

To close, he talked about the demands of the return of the Champions League, “on Wednesday we need a result to continue to have a chance in the group. It will be an important game for us and we will try to put out our strongest eleven to win the game.”