LaLiga pitchside returns for LaLiga matchday 35!
Missed matchday 34? Post-match reactions here.
Granada moved out of the relegation zone at the expense of Real Mallorca after thrashing the islanders in Palma, Celta Vigo and Rayo Vallecano secured their spots in LaLiga next season while Barcelona sealed qualification for the Champions League; Atlético Madrid are nearly there too after defeating champions Real Madrid.
Here is what the key figures had to say after each of matchday 35’s fixtures (full interviews were originally aired on Movistar LaLiga/Gol and these translated extracts were taken from the highlights posted on the LaLiga YouTube channel).
Levante 2-1 Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino:
“It’s frustrating. The fact is that we’re doing the right things week after week, playing really well. Obviously, there are some things we can work on but we dominated the game. Maybe we weren’t quite winning our individual battles as much towards the end of the match as we had been doing earlier and that cost us a bit on the counterattack. But I think we need to start being more clinical in front of goal because creating so many chances and not taking them isn’t normal.”
Gonzalo Melero, whose penalty won the game for Levante:
“Taking three points was all that mattered today. It was a really difficult game against Real Sociedad, especially in the first half, we didn’t create many chances. It’s really difficult to stop them but I think we’ve competed really well in the last few weeks, not only in terms of results. That’s what’s keeping us in with a chance of survival and the three points today were absolutely vital.
“Morales told me to take it (the penalty(. I was confident of scoring and it was a really important goal and victory.”
Real Mallorca 2-6 Granada
Veteran Granada striker Jorge Molina, who scored twice after coming on as a sub:
“We knew this was a crucial game. We’d improved some aspects of our play in the last few games without picking up the three points and we had to win today’s game no matter what. We can only be happy with the manner of our victory.”
“After the way we’d been struggling to win, obviously I don’t think anybody expected this kind of victory. But I think the team deserved a game like this.”
Mallorca right-back Pablo Maffeo:
“I’m lost for words. We can only apologise to the fans. It’s not over but we’re sorry.”
“I don’t know what happened, I don’t understand at all. It was a golden opportunity for us, with the stadium full. Personally, I just want to apologise to the fans and above all thank them for being here.”
Athletic Club 0-0 Valencia
Valencia defender Dimitri Foulquier:
“It takes a lot of effort to pick up each point in this league. I think the team had a good attitude today, we fought well. It’s a point at a tough place to come to.”
“It’s true that Giorgi (Mamardashvili) has saved us once again but I think that in the first half the referee missed a clear red card for Dani (García)i for an assault on Ilaxi (Moriba).”
Athletic full-back Óscar de Marcos:
“I think we deserved the three points. There was a change in the second half, we pushed forward a lot more. We had some really clear chances to score and win the game in the last few minutes. It’s a pity because the three points would’ve meant a lot to us. But we need to focus on the positives, we had a couple of opportunities in the first half and a few more in the second. We tried everything we could to impose ourselves on them.”
Celta Vigo 4-0 Alavés
Alavés defender Víctor Laguardia:
“They hurt us in every way possible. The goals aside, they took us apart. They were comfortable. If you let them play, they can really hurt you, they have quality players. We didn’t start the game well, we didn’t do anything in the first half.”
“We apologise to the fans who travelled for hours to come and see us.”
Celta captain Iago Aspas, who scored twice:
“We’re really happy, it was a complete performance. We went in front early on and I think when we have space to work in, the quality our players have shines through. I’m happy on a personal level, two more goals which keep me up there (in the top goalscorers’ charts). We need to keep fighting.”
“There’s a big difference right now between the squads the top seven clubs have and the rest but we’ll keep fighting year after year. It’s a great source of pride to be able to stay in the Primera Division for another season.”
Cádiz 3-0 Elche
Elche midfielder Gerard Gumbau:
“Obviously, nobody likes to lose and especially not like that. I don’t know what to say because I’m quite angry about how the game went. We were in control and the sending off screwed it all up. But the team fought until the end, as much as we were able to.”
“We’re almost there but we wanted to wrap it (safety) up today. It wasn’t to be but I’m sure we’ll manage to do it in front of our own fans.”
Cádiz striker Álvaro Negredo, who opened the scoring:
“The team needed it (the first goal) and so did I. We couldn’t afford to slip up today because of everything that was at stake. I’m happy about the three points and how the game finished.”
“It seems like there’s still a long way to go but there are three games left, that’s not many. We need to pick up some more points although we know that we have some difficult opponents coming up. But the way that we’ve been going lately, we’ve been in good form apart from the first half in Bilbao, we’re going to do it.”
Real Betis 1-2 Barcelona
Betis’ ex-Barça defender Marc Bartra:
“In the first half, I hurt my collar bone, which is what the ball came off when I scored! I put the goal down to my spirit.“
“Competing, fighting and trying to win big games and beating great teams was a dream for us but it’s now become a reality. Today we played well enough to win, I think the result was unfair. Although it’s true that Barça also played well and it was them who came out on top.”
Barça match winner Jordi Alba:
“It’s a shame that we’ve started winning regularly so late on. We dropped a lot of points at the start of the season, that made it an uphill battle for us. I think we’ve been improving but it’s come too late to challenge for the league. Barcelona always have to be competing for titles but after it became clear we couldn’t win the league, our objective was to qualify for the Champions League and to try to finish second to play in the Super Cup too.”
Getafe 0-0 Rayo Vallecano
Getafe defender Dakonam Djené:
“We tried to win the game, especially in the first half. We created some chances but we weren’t able to score. In the second half too, towards the end, in the last 15 minutes we pushed as well but I think a point helps us in our fight to stay up.”
“It’s not easy, it doesn’t look good, in my opinion. We need to fight, every team is fighting. We saw that Levante won yesterday, Cádiz have won so we’re going to try to ensure we’re safe as quickly as possible.”
Rayo midfielder Santi Comesaña:
“It (survival) was almost done and all we needed was a point to be mathematically certain although I’m sure with 41 points we would’ve been fine. But it’s better to be mathematically safe.”
“After coming up via the playoffs, finishing sixth (in Segunda), coming from behind to win in Girona without anyone thinking we would, reaching the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and being knocked out in the last minute away to Real Betis, having the first half of the season that we had and ensuring survival with three games left…we should have a holiday named after us.”
Villarreal 1-1 Sevilla
Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres:
“It’s a pity because we were the better team throughout the game and they scored from a set piece in the final minute. We’ve dropped points that would’ve been very important in the fight for a European place. Despite that, it’s still in our own hands.”
“It’s still in our hands to finish sixth and get a Europa League place. That’s the objective the club has at the start of every season, to play in Europe every year.”
Sevilla goalscorer Jules Koundé:
“I’m really tired, to be honest. We suffered quite a lot. We weren’t able to keep the ball as well as we would’ve liked. We weren’t on our game but we were also up against a really good team.”
“We know how important it is to qualify for the Champions League. We’re on the home straight, we have to grit our teeth and make sure of it as soon as possible.”
Espanyol 1-1 Osasuna
Espanyol’s Nico Melamed, who netted the equaliser:
“We knew how difficult the game was going to be. We’ve not been on a great run, either away or at home. We wanted to give the fans something to shout about. We always try to get the three points and fought until the end to do it. We weren’t able to but we come away from the game feeling good.”
“I think we deserved more, we had enough chances to pick up all three points. But we’re feeling good about ourselves after the game which hasn’t happened for a few weeks. We need to build on it and aim for the three points next week.”
Osasuna’s Kike Barja, who opened the scoring:
“We knew it was going to be a tough game here, they’ve been picking up a lot of points at home. I think a draw is a good result although we wanted more.”
“I was really happy to celebrate (the goal) with my teammates. I feel appreciated inside the dressing room, I get on really well with everyone and there were people on the bench who I have a lot of time for so I was especially happy to be able to celebrate with them.”
Atlético Madrid 1-0 Real Madrid
Real Madrid right-back Lucas Vázquez:
“It was a tough game. I think that although we ended up losing, we put up a good fight throughout. Now we need to be ready for Thursday’s game.”
“In the first half, we maybe we found it a bit harder to take the ball out from the back and play our game. I think we dominated the match in the second half, they had a couple of good opportunities too. I think we could’ve equalised but in the end we didn’t take our chances.”
Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak:
“We had lots of chances in the second half. We didn’t kill the game off and luckily we managed to hang on, keeping a clean sheet meant one goal was enough. I’m very happy with the three points in the fight for a Champions League place. There are three games left and we’ve taken a big step forward.”
“It was an end-to-end game and thankfully it was us who won. As I said, we can be happy with the three points.”