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Sarabia: "The team have real quality"

The coach speaks after the 0-0 draw with RC Deportivo de A Coruña

Eder Sarabia gave his assessment of RCD Espanyol’s draw against RC Deportivo at the RCDE Stadium, speaking in his post-match press conference.

“What I’ll take away is the team’s willingness and eagerness to execute the game plan we had established. Our opponents didn’t create any clear-cut scoring chances. We played in their half, we dominated, and their goalkeeper was their best player. We deserved the win, so it’s a shame we didn’t get it.”

The coach also noted that “Our intention was to keep the game in the opposition half, win the ball back quickly, and provide various attacking options; we were also dangerous on the counterattack and through our direct play. This team have real quality; we already saw that in Villarreal. There are still areas to work on; in possession, we sometimes struggled to find the right advantages or numerical superiorities in key zones. These are things we need to keep fine-tuning, but the team really stepped up.”

Reflecting on his first few days in charge, Sarabia said that “I’ve seen nothing but opportunities; this week has reinforced my belief in the possibilities we have and the team’s potential. Over the coming weeks, we need to create the right environment for the players to reach their best.

“The feeling in the dressing room is that, before long, we will become a more dominant side -a team that force things to happen, rather than just waiting for the opposition to do something. The players enjoyed themselves today, and we managed to steer the game exactly where we wanted it to go.”