Malaga Coach Manuel Pellegrini has expressed his delight over his players’ collective performance in a convincing 3-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg.
“It was nice to put on a show at La Roselada,” explained the former Real Madrid tactician in his post match interview after the club’s first ever Champions League group game.
“The goal we set ourselves was to play in the Champions League like we do in La Liga, we needed every facet of our team united for that.”
A brace from Spanish playmaker Isco and another strike from new signing Javier Saviola sealed the victory for Pellegrini’s men, with the Coach impressed with his side’s ability against a tough opponent.
“The entire team played a great game against a very tough opponent in Zenit. It is a happy day.
“Isco is a player who has a great future, who is starting a career and no-one knows where it will end. The important thing now is that he is at Malaga.”
Issues off the field have rocked the 59-year-old’s side, but they currently sit second in La Liga and now top of Group C.
“We still have a lot of internal motivation to carry out the project. This is the best way to do it. The team has 90 minutes to show what he is trained for at this level.
“We have a testing month of domestic and European football now, we can only wait and see if physically we can foot the bill.”
