"If we had to lose, best to do it like that"

Sergio Pellicer, Malaga's coach, is proud of how his team was eliminated in the Copa del Rey. He did it by fighting to the end against Granada, a first class rival. The 'boquerones' even starred in a siege in the final stretch of the game.

"We would have liked to have won because the Cup generates a lot of excitement for the fans, especially now that we can't enjoy it in the stadium. They have been tremendously hard years and we wanted to take a step forward. If we had to fall, let it be this way, fighting with rage until the end against a First Division team that ends up asking for time," he said.

"A positive assessment must be made, beyond the result. In the first part, we were penalised for a foul and a loss in an area where we tried not to make those mistakes. This rival does not give anything away, it is a team that competes", he added.

With respect to the great second half that his team played, he explained: "At the break, I said that the second half had to be a different game and that we had to compete, win and not fit in. We only needed a goal to draw. We tried to attack the spaces on the outside, but Granada didn't give anything away with Diego Martinez. We didn't lose face in the game and we kept going, although they brought in players who are regulars in the league and then play in the Europa League".

He was also asked about Ramon, the pearl of the Malaga side who is playing a leading role: "He has been taking important steps, although at the beginning of the season he had doubts because he thought that he would not be so leading. Everything that is happening to him is the result of his work".