Valencia CF coach, Rubén Baraja, spoke in a press conference following the 3-0 defeat to Real Betis at the Benito Villamarín.

Analysing the game

The feeling is that only Diakhaby was injured. We can look for many excuses. We are missing players at fullback, which is a position in which it is always more difficult to replace people. We have not performed at the level of demand required for this division. We had to be forceful, stick together and pressure, and they scored goals from set pieces, and it is not possible to compete like that. Either we give 200% in each game, or in games like today’s the same thing will happen. We lacked freshness up top to create dangerous situations. The team weren’t together and Betis took advantage of it. This result must help us improve and move forward.

Conceding from set pieces

The set piece goals make no sense because we had players over 1.85m tall on the field. Both actions were poorly defended. In the first goal, we forgot to prevent the second line from running in on the wing, and in the second the sixth man from the rebound scored the goal. We worked on  set pieces and today it was a matter of concentration. Betis were the better side. They generate chances from other situations, but on set pieces we cannot look for excuses.

The team’s mental state

Whoever plays, we have to always be at our best from the beginning. Today Betis were the better side, and deservedly so.

Diakhaby

The feeling we have is that he has a tear. We are going to wait for the tests and we will evaluate him.

Negative results

Our reality is this. Every game is important and every point is key. Betis were superior to us and we have to continue maintaining our strategy. We don't have to go crazy, or deviate from our script and our objective. It has to help us prepare for the next game with more motivation.

Bringing players back against Mallorca

In principle, Foulquier and Thierry could be available. Thierry had discomfort for this match and we did not want to risk him. We hope to be able to recover some players.