Pellegrino: Lille date not imperative

Valencia coach Mauricio Pellegrino said his side’s Champions League clash with Lille is not pivotal to their knockout-stages bid.

The La Liga outfit were beaten 2-1 in their opening match against Bayern Munich, while Lille suffered a 3-1 loss at home to BATE Borisov.

Pellegrino said while a victory would be extremely beneficial for both clubs, there were still four more group games to follow.

“This is three very important points for two teams, but no matter which way the result goes there are still 12 points to play for,” the Argentine manager said.

“If we win, draw or lose we have to win the rest of them to stand a chance.

“What we do tomorrow will define what we need to do in the rest of the group games.”

Valencia have a number of players on the sidelines for the match, including defenders Adil Rami and Ricardo Costa but Pellegrino said his sole focus is on the players who grace the pitch.

“We have some injuries but we will have 11 players who are fit and well and looking forward to the game,” he said.

“I trust in the players we have to win the game tomorrow. I think they are going to do a great job tomorrow and sometimes the team is more important than individual players.

“I prefer to talk about the players on the pitch than of two or three that are out.”