Villarreal coach Quique Setien was delighted with their 2-0 win against Real Sociedad.

A Dani Parejo penalty and Nicolas Jackson's effort saw Villarreal through.

Setien later said: “We knew the connotations of this match because we have the intention of getting into Europe. We have teams chasing us and it's going to be a close fight. These three points allow us to look to the future with optimism and get closer to teams like Real. It boosts our confidence a lot and boosts our morale.

“You always try to change things or rest players who have put in a lot of effort. Fresh legs always help. The important thing is that we have some players with injuries, but those who are recovering will help us. I hope that at the end of the season those who have joined us, such as Pedraza, Jackson and Lo Celso, will be in the same state as they are today.

“The important thing is that we played a great game against a great opponent. The match was spectacular in every sense of the word, with a lot of alternatives, with chances to score, with two teams that want to play in the opposition half. There were moments of running and suffering. We would have lost these games when we had that negative streak. I think they are a great opponent who are very difficult to beat and we can be happy because we made an extraordinary effort and we were strengthened by the result."