The Catalan central defender completed a remarkable match against the leader, which is reflected in his game statistics
Dfter almost four months without playing due to an Achilles tendon injury that was compounded by a health problem, Marc Bartra he finally returned to the pitch yesterday. And he did it in a match of maximum demand, before the leader of The league. But despite some small initial mistakes, the result of a long inactivity, the Catalan center-back ended up completing a remarkable match that is faithfully reflected in his statistics.
Marc was the footballer of Betis who touched the ball the most times (113) in front of the Atlético de Madrid, the one who completed the most passes (95, with 85% accuracy) and the most outstanding in the defensive records with nine punts, three interceptions, five innings, six won duels on the ground of seven attempts, six aerial duels won of seven disputes and a single foul committed. A deployment with which he contributed to his team rescuing an invaluable point in the fight for Europe.
Shortly after the game, Bartra he went through the Movistar microphones where he confirmed his good feelings on returning to the competition: “” It has been more than three and a half months, never in my entire career have I lost so much time, but I’m not going to fool you, I have found myself much better than I expected. In that aspect, very happy “.
I work to improve in other aspects of the game
The Betic center-back has taken advantage of his convalescence to try to improve in various aspects: “When I saw that things began to get complicated, that perhaps it was not going to be a matter of weeks but months, I immediately began to work, not only in the physical aspect or in food, but also on a mental level because I wanted to come back being an even better player. You can get positive things out of all the bad things that happen to us, you have more time, more peace of mind to improve in other aspects, and that has been my mentality from the first day, since I saw that the injury was going a long way “.
Now, finally recovered, he enjoys the good time of his team: “We have been at a good level for months, but not only with the ball, which has always been the case. With the ball we were very good, but at the level of mentality when We did not have it, maybe we did not feel comfortable, we always had to take the reins of the game. We have made a change of mentality in the sense that when we do not dominate at all, not lower our arms, continue in the game and be mentally strong even if we conceded a goal … And the truth is that I also wanted to experience it from within, the team has taken a step forward, so I am very happy to be able to be today and continue in this line.
I have worked on the physical aspect, the diet and on the mental level because I wanted to return as a better player
He missed the Villamarín public
The penalty for Bartra It was not being able to return with the stadium full: “There have been games, we talked about it the other day with Joaquín, imagine how they would have been with all the fans, what they would have been as soon as we left the hotel. But we can get negative things out of it Also positive details such as that now we listen to each other much more on the field, we can be more in communication even with the forwards, I quite like talking … Without the ball we have improved perhaps because there is better communication, we are more compact. But having to the Benito Villamarin full, imagine … If this is going well for us, with the stadium full it would be brutal “.
Finally, the defender of the Verdiblanco team appreciated the contribution of Pellegrini to the team: “He is a coach who knows how to get the best out of each one by saying the right words at the moment he touches. With me, from the first talk we had, there was a connection because I immediately knew what he wanted from me: to be very focused on the defensive side, he told me that I have the conditions and that I was very focused. And today it is being that way, wanting to continue responding in the next games that come because he is a coach who has brought a very good mentality to the team, he is getting the best out of each one and that can be seen on the field with the talented and quality players that we have. “
