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González: "Villarreal CF will give us a very demanding match"

The coach looks at the rescheduled LaLiga contest

RCD Espanyol play a rescheduled game against Villarreal CF on Sunday afternoon, and coach Manolo González is expecting a tough contest against the contenders for a Champions League spot.

“It's a very demanding match. Villarreal may have only picked up one point from the last six, but they're a very good team. For me, it's as dificult as playing at the Bernabéu against Real Madrid, or against Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. It's a match to take very seriously, because mistakes can punish you a lot, so we have to be very teady. They haven't won in two matches, but they've done enough to have won those games.”

The coach added that “we have set up the match to go out there and win. Our current position in the table exceeds my expectations. From the beginning, we said it would be a very difficult year, and it's proving to be tough, so if we can secure our objective as soon as possible, then all the better. If someone had told us back in January that we'd be in this situation, we would have taken that. The main protagonists in all of this have been the players.”

Having completed 50 games as coach of the first team, he noted that "not even in my wildest dreams would I have expected to be here. I have to thank the players, the coaching staff, and the sporting director. Thanks to them, I've already had 50 games in charge, and I hope there are many more to come."