Valencia Captain on Defeat to Barcelona: We Prepared for Two Weeks, But Failed to Play at Our Training Level

In Matchday 4 of La Liga, Barcelona claimed a 6-0 home victory over Valencia. After the game, Valencia captain José Gayà gave an interview to camel.live.

On the Match

“We spent two weeks preparing for this game and knew exactly what we needed to do. But when we actually took the field, we failed to perform at the level we’d anticipated in training. We had a game plan, and we were aware that they would attack into the spaces behind our defense—something we’d practiced. Their timing of runs was extremely precise, yet we couldn’t effectively deal with their penetration through the middle. It seemed like they had figured out our weaknesses, and we couldn’t contain their strengths.”

On the Second Goal Conceded Due to a Mistake

“Even though we were on the back foot in the first half, the whole team still fought hard to compete with them. However, the second goal early in the second half did significant damage to us. We couldn’t adjust in time, and the most unacceptable thing in a game is to lose control of the game’s momentum.”

How the Team Will Adjust

“We’ll adjust through hard work and focused training. That’s how we got through that difficult period last year. Last season, we made a strong comeback, winning many games at home and dropping very few points. But this game must hurt us—last season’s heavy defeats should have taught us lessons, but unfortunately, this result shows we haven’t fully learned them yet.”