Las Palmas manager on Barcelona win – ‘Two brilliant Scots, they feel it like they’re from Gran Canaria’

Las Palmas manager Diego Martinez has dismissed the idea that his side played direct football and wasted time against Barcelona. The Canary Islanders recorded a 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Montjuic, their first away win against the Blaugrana since 1971, on what is being called a historic day for them.

Martinez personally has an excellent record against Barcelona, ​​having played with Xavi Hernandez's team, while beating Ronald Koeman and Ernesto Valverde in the past. He was asked what his special recipe for Barcelona was.

“I study all my rivals, but on other occasions, despite studying them very well, for whatever reason, I don't succeed. Anyway, it depends not only on your success, but also on the success of your rival. The first thing you can gain here is that you have to believe. That is the most important thing.”

Martinez's side took advantage of what Hansi Flick saw as a lack of focus and connection between his players, but was questioned about beating the Blaugrana player and wasting time – a view he did not share.

“I really liked the team with the ball. We played fast, with good transition and were more vertical to take advantage of those spaces. There were almost no aerial duels, so I don't think it was direct. Would I have liked to have had more possession, yes, but when we had it I liked what we did. Apologies that the changes interrupted the game, but the players were unable to continue.”

He was also asked what it meant especially for the people of the island, given the 53-year wait for a victory.

“I don't like to make distinctions. Because we are a team. We have two brilliant Scots, Oli and Scott, who feel like they are from Gran Canaria. For the guys who have been here a long time it is special, but I want to emphasize the team spirit and what this means for all of us.”

“For those who also ask a lot of questions about Barcelona, ​​​​I hope you can also think about us, have some empathy, know that this is also very important for us, and that 15 points for us can mean a step towards survival . for us.”

Regarding the way Las Palmas attacked, Martinez admitted that exploiting the flanks behind the full-backs was one of the options they focused on.

“It is a very complete team, they do things very well. But within the small window of opportunity they give you, attacking those spaces wide is an option. Or go down one side and switch with quick transitions. It requires 3, 4, 5 quick passes and just playing directly, which is why I already qualified your colleague earlier.”