The phrase was risky because anyone could go to the classification and point out to Cervera the delicate situation of the team just before traveling to Las Palmas. But the coach, who doesn’t seem to be afraid of reactions to his words either, was clear about it and that’s why he said it: “They’ll think I’m crazy, but I see the team better than ever.” An Oviedo that was walking in fits and starts along the precipice and weighed down by the plague of injuries was moving to Las Palmas, the favorite for promotion, and it occurred to the coach to mention that he saw his team better than ever.
The phrase surprised, but Cervera had a basis for his statement, especially from the volatile world of sensations. The team came from winning in Leganés with hardly any scratches, deserving more in Granada and treating the leader Eibar one on one. Little baggage at a time with curves, but with the certainty that this Oviedo could be trusted.
Oviedo was planted in Las Palmas in a hurry for the table and without nine footballers, some like Lucas or Bastón headlines. It did not matter. Because the Admiral was clear: his team does not cringe before anyone. Even less against the favorites, those teams that fight for the top and that the season has been in charge of pointing out as favorable victims for blue interests.
The one in Las Palmas was not Oviedo’s best game. At least not in general terms: Granada or Eibar surely showed more reasons to celebrate in the game. But those from Cervera returned to show their most solid version. A granite set, where the aid is multiplied with each advance of the rival.
The locals lamented two balls that crashed into the crossbar and that could have changed the analysis of the night, but even that, surprising as it may seem, was part of the plan. Not counting on the sticks, obviously, but the fact that the opponent could do damage from a distance was something that could happen because of how Oviedo approached the game. “We knew that we were going to spend a lot of time in our field and that if we could concede anything it was shots from outside the area,” explained the coach matter-of-factly.
The victory marks Viti’s great moment while throwing a reasonable doubt into the air: what would have happened to this team with Borja Sánchez healthy for more games? The victory, of course, also reinforces the work of Cervera, who only laments misfortunes with a small mouth, preferring to use his efforts to find solutions.
This time, in addition, he points out as a strategist. He operated the system of five defenses that he imposed in Canary territory. Las Palmas choked with the deliberate accumulation of blue footballers behind the ball. Oviedo needed to do more with the ball, take better advantage of the spaces in each Canarian loss, but this lack of fluidity in attack is something that has been known for a long time. If there was the possibility of winning by half a goal to nil, Oviedo would do it. It is not the game that will attract the most fans, but the team, given the circumstances, competes in each scenario. It’s a rock. And he comes out of the hottest stretch of the calendar reinforced: salvation is closer.