Setién after Barcelona loss: a draw would have been a fair result

Sunday’s La Liga match between Villarreal and Barcelona ended in a narrow 1-0 win for the visitors. However, Quique Setién’s team put in a fine performance and earned praise from their coach. According to him, a draw would have been a better result.

The match between Villarreal and Barcelona was decided by Pedri’s 18th minute goal. The home team tried to equalize but they couldn’t convert their good performance into any major scoring opportunities.

Interestingly, Villarreal were even better in ball possession statistics than Barcelona. This also shows some of the pressure the home side were building up as the end of the game approached. However, the Catalan club’s defensive phase, led by goalkeeper ter Stegen, worked well.

The German goalkeeper is currently having a fantastic season. He already has sixteen clean sheets from the twenty-one games he has played in La Liga. In the remaining games he has only conceded seven goals.

The home team’s coach Quique Setién was also pleased with the performance of his charges. He praised his players for their performance, but regretted the lost point.

“A draw would have been a fair result,” Setién said at the press conference, referring to Villarreal’s dominant play, especially in the second half.

After an important game, Barcelona could have been happy with the three points. This way, they consolidated the first place in the table and at the same time they leapfrogged Real Madrid by eleven points. However, the Madrid club has a game to play when they host Elche at their stadium on Wednesday.

Villarreal, on the other hand, are in eighth position due to three defeats in a row, which is not a place that would guarantee participation in the European Cups. But Setién still believes in an improvement in results.

“We are two points away from the European Cup. We want to achieve this goal, we want to qualify for Europe at the end of the season,” concluded the Spanish coach.

La Liga, Tribal Football, Movistar