Mel: If they say that Falcao is hurt, it’s bad

Real Betis manager, Pepe Mel was wary of the rumours that Atletico Madrid striker, Radamel Falcao has been injured and may miss Thursday’s match between Betis and Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie.

• By Tom Conn       Follow @TomConnISF
  

In his pre-match interview, Mel recollected that Barcelona had said the same thing about forward, Leo Messi, before Messi went to the Benito Villamarín and broke the goal-scoring record against Los Beticos, leaving Mel to be somewhat cautious.

“The objective tomorrow is to win and it’s always bad if you don’t score, a 0-0 draw is a bad result.

“If they say Falcao is injured, it’s bad.  The same thing happened with Messi before our Liga match against Barcelona and he ended up scoring two goals.  We are playing against Atletico, not against one solidary player, even though he is the best pure striker in the world at this moment.

“Simeone has radically changed the face of this team.  He’s transmitted the same character he had as a footballer.  It’s a very intense team, and have the capacity to keep Real Madrid in the third spot.”

Mel was then asked about the influence referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco may have on the match.

“I’m worried about Atletico Madrid, nothing else.  Undiano is very good, he had the misfortune of making a mistake the other day (in Betis’ loss against Mallorca) but this club wants to see the good in everyone.

“The referees have a prejudice against Betis, but the officiating in Spain is good and in the end the deserving team wins.  Being an official is very hard and it’s be nice to stop a game for 30 seconds to help and not make a mistake.”