Marcelino, Villarreal's coach, thrilled with Baena's standout performance in win against Las Palmas

Marcelino admitted, "The first half was tough as the opposition had control of the ball and we struggled to apply enough pressure. I take responsibility for not instructing our team to press more aggressively. We needed to be more intense defensively."

"We lost some balls and had few pauses in the circulations. In the second half, we thought it could have been easier and we conceded a goal that was very avoidable. But the team recovered and the second half was ours because we had enough goal-scoring opportunities to decide the match. This victory puts us third and we are very happy."

Baena scored and made one assist. Marcelino also said: "Football is a team sport. If you have good individual players... In the second half we were fluid because the whole team was. There were chances, we scored goals and missed a penalty... The team persisted and deserved the result. A footballer helps you win, as Barry did with his goal, but if you're not a team you don't win. And you have to be one to defend and attack. We were a team until the end."

He continued: "Our goal is to be better and it's clear that we have to improve in many areas. We're doing well for a team that has had so many changes and that had a very complicated schedule at the start. We should be satisfied and proud of these players. The players want, have the will and ability to work for and with the team. That's why we feel proud. We would all have signed up to be third on matchday eight and have added 17 points ."