The coach of Real Oviedo, Guillermo Almada, appeared in the press room after the very important victory of the blue team against Valencia CF at the Carlos Tartiere. First of all, the coach emphasized that "when we had to defend, we did it tooth and nail, the victory is very fair. I don't like defending near the area, I don't like changing what we are doing well. Scoring the second goal was what we were looking for, but after the disallowed goal and the effort, we wanted to protect ourselves from the lateral crosses, and that's why we brought in Dani Calvo. We did well, although I prefer to do it far from the rival area."
"Victories generate confidence, a good atmosphere, and reaffirm the good things you do. It was vital to win today to generate all that and get closer to the goal. For us, only finals remain," he added.
Regarding the matches left against direct rivals, Almada pointed out that "I am an optimist by nature, also because I see the players train. We can only think about Levante, and then we'll see. Even when we play against Madrid, we will try to win, that must be our mentality."
"The only thing we cannot do is stop fighting. The Oviedo fans support us and manage to transmit a lot to our players, I hope that connection is never lost," he detailed.
Finally, when asked about several key players, "Costas has had an outstanding performance with us in all the matches. He has that charisma that he generates on the field, and today he had a spectacular performance again. When the team functions well, individualities emerge."
"Thiago and Ilic played a great match and are growing. Players need confidence, and they are two good footballers. It's about them making it difficult for us so we have more options in the matches, they are welcome. They strengthen us as a group," he concluded.