"With eleven men on the pitch we weren't very good", was the blunt response by UD Las Palmas' manager. Regarding the sending off of Halilovic in the first half, he stated "a sending off is always crucial, especially so in the first half. I cannot complain about our second half performance, we were ordered in our play".
With reference with tonight's starting line-up, he said "we were playing with virtually 5 defenders and 5 attackers, which made the match a little crazy" while adding "the gaps within the team showed up, at times we were good on the ball, other times not so good". In defensive terms, he believed "they hurt us when they come at us quickly with the ball" although in a more positive light he said "we were in with a chance right until the end"
Referring to their rivals, he said "they played with more intensity, we were playing the ball around more, but we lacked punch".
He concluded by talking about his debut in LaLiga Santander, "it is anecdotal, right now I am coming away from the game in a negative frame of mind".
Manolo Márquez made his comments in the press room at Mestalla following his team's opening 1-0 league defeat against Valencia.
