MONTELLA: “I'M EXPECTING AN AGGRESSIVE OPPONENT”

Vincenzo Montella spoke to the press ahead of Saturday's home game against Athletic Club (16:15pm), an opponent that is expected to be "extremely organised, aggressive, and a team that plays well in all areas on the pitch. Tomorrow's match is crucial".

Asked about finding the back of the net, the Italian coach agrees that progress needs to be made: "I don't know why this is happening, it's definitely not a due to a lack of motivation. However, if we want to climb the ranks we need to focus in front of the goal. We have great attacking players that play well throughout the entire game. If we become more solid, we will see improvement". 

The coach also praised the performances of both Nolito and Arana in Wednesday's match against Málaga CF: "Nolito had a great game, he's had some time off but he's adjusted well to his new position. Arana also played amazing in his Sevilla FC debut. He hadn't played for a long time so we expected his recovery to take a little longer, but he's in good form and in the squad".