Raúl García: “We have the ambition to stay on the top”

The third Atlético captain spoke about the injuries of Arda Turan and Diego Costa. “These are things that can happen, especially at this stage of the season and competing at this level. We really believe in all the players in the team but we’re not going to hide that they are important players for us”. Nevertheless, Raúl admitted “we have every confidence in all of the players to help the team. This is a committed team, because those who get to play and have fewer minutes than the starter players always deliver when they’re needed”.

The player from Navarra praised his teammates’ attitude in the match against Barcelona. “You suffer more from the side-line than when you’re playing, because you want to help and can’t. I didn’t suffer with this match because the guys did a great job. It was a very even match, very intense. My teammates played at a high level and the result was very good. The qualifying round will be finally decided here”, he confirmed.

No matter how, the team always finds a way to make the match progress

 Far from Barcelona’s match, the Atlético striker assured the team is only thinking in winning Villareal. “First comes Villareal. We play each game thinking on how to face it to achieve victories. We want to stay on the top of the table, right now, we’re only worried about Villareal’s match”. A Villareal, that just as the Navarra player pointed out, “is a rival that’s not going to make things harder because they’re playing very well. If we want to be competitive in the first position, we have to win, and to win we have to concentrate on Saturday’s match”.

Regarding Diego Ribas’ performance, Raúl mentioned “we are happy for Diego, not only for the goal, but for the great match he played. We’re not surprised by his performance because he’s a player who can deliver plenty to the team, and he’s aware that he can. Let’s hope he continuous on that line because it would be the best for the team”.

Motivation is at its maximum in this final stage of the season. “Since January we’ve been on the topic of fuel. The team is showing everyday that if it’s not because of fuel, it’s because of ambition. We always look for anything to make the match progress. Teams come here to try to win some points. We are vey aware that all the matches are complicated, our rivals have much on the line, both at the top and the bottom. We only think of staying at the top, the longer the better”, he concluded.