Anselmi says Elche were not swayed by the “noise” after Vallecas win

“We have not let ourselves be carried away by the noise or the context,” Martín Anselmi said after Elche’s 3-0 win over Rayo Vallecano at Vallecas. The coach said he was “happy” with the result and praised a team he believes understood the different phases and demands of the match.

“We were intelligent because you have to understand what the match asks of you at each moment,” he said. Against a Rayo side he described as quick, direct and attack-minded, Anselmi felt his players had produced a complete performance. He also highlighted their focus despite the atmosphere and wider circumstances around the game: “The players are the ones who play. The rest is noise. We tried to shut it out.”

The coach rejected the idea that the performance reflected a sudden transformation. In his view, the work put in by the team mattered more: “There is no magic or strange transformation in our performance.” He also said the group’s aim was to improve and turn that progress into points. “If we get more points than last season, it means we are better,” he said, while acknowledging that some things the team wants to see are not captured by the data.

Before the match, Anselmi had also addressed incidents involving Rayo Vallecano supporters that had led to the previous game against Athletic Club being suspended. He said LaLiga should take “exemplary action” if such incidents happened again. He said he did not know the criteria applied in each case and considered it imprudent to comment on the dispute between Rayo supporters and the club’s directors. He added that travelling Elche supporters and the players who had prepared for the match were also affected. “We prepare to go onto the pitch and play the match. The rest is not our responsibility, and we cannot control it,” he said.

After the win, Anselmi praised his players’ commitment and their willingness to put the team ahead of personal preferences. He said they had set themselves the goal of keeping a clean sheet at half-time. Fede Redondo received particular praise: “He had a ten-out-of-ten game, including a goal.” Anselmi also explained that Gonzalo Villar was substituted because three players on the pitch had been booked, while Facu Buonanotte, he felt, deserved to play.

Looking ahead, Anselmi declined to focus beyond the next fixtures: the Cup on Tuesday, followed by Sunday’s league match against Valencia. His message was to keep working.