Garitano: “Winning against Villarreal would have a huge impact”

Athletic Club manager Gaizka Garitano reiterated the importance of beating Villarreal CF on Tuesday night (22:00 CET) and winning consecutive LaLiga matches for the first time this season.

The Lions make the trip down to la Cerámica where they’ll face an in-form Villarreal, who are currently fourth in the LaLiga Santander table.

“We’re facing one of the best teams in LaLiga,” Garitano said at his pre-match press conference. “We’ll have to be at our best to win. But we’re confident about getting that second consecutive victory we’ve wanted for some time. Winning against Villarreal would have a huge impact.”

Garitano urged his players to make the most of Saturday’s crucial victory over SD Huesca by going into Tuesday’s fixture with the same win-at-all-costs mentality.

“The players, as well as the coaching staff, have to have that pressure to always win. We must be hungry to win, we’re at a great club, with high standards,” Garitano added.

“We know how difficult tomorrow’s match will be, but we won’t win if we’re not aware of the fact that getting a good result will be very positive for us.”

As for Tuesday’s opponents Villarreal, Garitano explained how new manager Unai Emery has improved the Yellows by adding “defensive solidity” to their already potent attacking options.

“It’s great team. We’ve done well in our last few away game and we’re going to one of the most difficult grounds in the league to take one of the teams with most quality,” he said.

“Under Emery, they’re much stronger defensively. They’ve always had good attacking players but now they also concede less goals.”