Rubén Albés: “We have to understand where we've come from, how we've done it, and what we've achieved in order to win”

C.D. Leganés head coach Rubén Albés held a press conference following Friday’s match between the Pepineros and U.D. Las Palmas at Estadio Gran Canaria, part of Matchday 4 of LALIGA HYPERMOTION, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

The Blue-and-White coach assessed the 90 minutes as follows:

Match Assessment: "I value the point given the venue and the opponent we faced. We were the better team, both in terms of play and chances, but we lacked the finishing touch. It’s not easy to earn a point in a setting like this. Obviously, we would have liked to win, and there’s a bit of frustration, but we have to recognize where we came in, how we played, and what we created to win the match.”

Morata: “This isn’t a day to talk about Álvaro, but rather about the team’s performance. He’s been training for less than a week; we put him in the game, and he provided us with energy, experience, solutions, precision, hard work—so many things. And the players who came on for Álvaro—Patrick—provided us with runs off the ball, a threat, and capitalized on the groundwork laid in the first half and part of the second with Álvaro. I’m very happy with the work of the two forwards who played today.”

Morata’s Injury Status: “In principle, he’s fine; I have no information suggesting he has any kind of problem.”

Sule’s Substitution: “We were looking for a bit more speed; the game was pretty even, and they kept defending high up the field, giving us some time to think. We wanted to create more of a threat, as we did at times down the wings and with the forwards, and to pick up the pace of the game significantly. We took the risk of dropping Gharbi deeper to go for the win, but it didn’t work out for us.”

Being the Better Team, but Not Winning: “It’s brought us closer to winning. When you’re the better team, you’re usually closer to winning games. But the beauty of it is that it’s not always like that. It allowed us to earn a point, which is a good result on the road, against a good team, in a tough stadium.”

Feelings: “In this league, you have to value the points. We’re left with a little frustration at not getting all three, because it’s not easy, in situations like this—on the road—to do so many things right and be better than the opponent, and you’re left with that slight disappointment. That said, it’s one more point, in a demanding environment, against a strong opponent that’s a contender for the top of the standings. You have to look at things with the right perspective.”

Las Palmas: “We did things right and minimized the threat Las Palmas posed with the ball. They’re a recognizable team with various options that creates uncertainty and is capable of overwhelming you at certain points in the game—but I don’t think that happened today. Possession was even, which allowed us to settle into the game with the ball. Beyond that, I won’t comment on Las Palmas’ performance.”

Five-man defense: “I wouldn’t talk about that, but rather about organization and a defensive performance driven by determination, heart, spirit, commitment, a desire to prove ourselves, and a high level of selflessness. That’s allowed us to keep a clean sheet in the last three matchdays, and today, in a more typical game than the one against Oviedo, we only faced one shot on goal and none off target.”