GARCÍA PIMIENTA: "IT'S DISAPPOINTING BECAUSE WE KNEW THE TYPE OF GAME WE WOULD FACE HERE"

Xavi García Pimienta spoke after the defeat to Betis: “When you lose, you haven't done things right. It's a shame, because we went out onto the pitch with things very clear, knowing what we were going to find and that we could hurt them on the counter, as was the case with the goal and a few other moments. It's a pity we couldn't hold on to that 1-0 lead and I think what was crucial was that second goal before halftime. You can't let them score that second goal in stoppage time, because it defines the second half." 

Regarding the second half, he acknowledged that “we tried, but with more heart than head. We practically didn't create any chances, we lacked fluency in attack, we needed to be a little more patient with the ball to be able to create some dangerous chances. When we had that calmness, we were able to progress together in the opponent's half, but we played very little because Betis was winning and understood that they had to waste time. It was a pity, because today the team deserved to have taken a point, especially in the first half." 

"In the second half we didn't play with our heads" 

“That was part of the game plan, that Betis would have the ball at times. We had to be strong defensively and I think we conceded very little for the possession they had, especially in the first half. We got forward and every time we went forward we generated danger. The people who came on in the second half were good, they gave us energy, but we should have created more danger and had more patience to get closer to the opponent's goal. We didn't do it because of our haste and we generated practically nothing in the second half." 

It's time to pick ourselves up and continue: “Now we have to recover well from today's effort and start thinking about the next game tomorrow. There are nine games to go and all the teams will be playing the last phase of the season. Starting with Sunday against Atlético, a very demanding and difficult match, but we are playing at home and we will surely give our all to get the three points."