At the end of the match against Celta de Vigo, corresponding to the 17th round of LaLiga 24-25, Jesús Navas’ last match as a professional at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, Sevilla coach, Xavi García Pimienta, offered his impressions about what happened in the Sevilla stadium, not only about the match itself but also summed up what was felt with the farewell of the Nervion legend. The Catalan coach began by assessing that “a very special day, which has already been experienced from the beginning. It was noticeable in the atmosphere, a different game. Everything has gone as planned. We have suffered, we had a great team in front of us. In the second half we were better, we had more scoring chances. Jesús deserved to end this way, with a very complete match on his part and a victory. Happy day, because of what has been experienced, but also sad, because the stadium has seen its legend dressed as a player for the last time. “He deserves the best, we will enjoy him this last week.”
The Sevilla coach was clear that Navas should start in his last game in Nervión, but it was also the captain who had to decide based on his feelings: «My plans included him playing as a starter. I spoke to him and told him what my intention was, but he was the one who was going to decide. He really wanted to play as a starter and I told him that I was going to do it, regardless of what happened. “It was clear that, if he wanted to and was able, he was going to play as long as he could.”
He was also asked how he imagines Seville post Jesús Navas and he answered that “we are going to enjoy the last week of Jesús. We have some training and one last game left. From there I don’t know what awaits Sevilla, but the team has to continue noticing Jesús Navas.
Going on to evaluate the match itself, Pimienta was questioned about the start of the match of disconnection from the Sevilla team and commented that “I admit that I was excited too, so my nerves are on edge. In front of us we had a very demanding opponent, very good, as we saw in the first half. That has made us suffer a lot. It has been a very epic, hard-fought victory. It was important for the fans to experience this day; not only because of Jesus’ farewell, but because he has seen how the team has suffered. If we haven’t played better it’s because we were faced with a team that subjugates and dominates you. Today it was time to put on work overalls. In the first half, they have been much better. The second part has been ours. We would have liked to play another type of football, but we have to adapt to the match situations. “When you can’t play well, you have to adapt, compete and work.”
Regarding the sanction of Juanlu, Carmona and Isaac Romero, the Barcelona coach warned that “I don’t know if it has changed. It seems disproportionate to me that because of a celebration after a game, three players miss out on the possibility of playing a game. There are no excuses, the team has left everything. They haven’t been able to play, but three other boys from the reserve team have. I know that the president will speak on this topic in these days. We were counting on the possibility of this happening. I know that the club has done everything in its power to, at least, obtain the precautionary measure. It was not final this morning that I called the three of them to my office and told them that they could not play this game. Naturally, they have collapsed. They didn’t expect it. There was a real possibility of being able to play, which is why they were very disappointed. “There are no excuses, three boys have come out of the reserve team and they have done wonderfully.”
Finally, regarding the substitution of Kelechi Iheanacho at half-time, García Pimienta stated that “things are not going well for the boy, but he is having a great attitude. Also, it was when the team was at its worst, not just Kelechi. We have run a lot, but not in an orderly way. He considered that the best thing was to bring in a player with more presence, like García Pascual, with an imposing physique. We knew Manu Bueno better; Except for a few minutes, he was very good and scored the goal. I had to keep in mind the situation of the changes, due to the reserves of the subsidiary. Darío has gone out because Montiel has received a blow. Idumbo was also on the field,” he concluded.
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