Several of UD Almería's senior players played a key role in the valuable draw against Málaga CF, with Adri Embarba, Andrés Fernández and Rodrigo Ely sharing their thoughts with UDA Radio, the Club's official broadcaster, after the final whistle.

Embarba praised the collective effort of the team and the brave approach shown throughout the contest: 'The whole team put in a tremendous shift. We approached the game with courage and competed well in a stadium where it's never easy to play.'

The winger also acknowledged the tension of a high-stakes occasion but stressed that UD Almería never lost sight of their footballing identity. 'Neither team wanted to lose or make mistakes, but we came here to compete, to create chances and to be in charge of the ball. Everything is still open for the second leg,' he explained.

Goalkeeper Andrés Fernández once again produced several great saves and highlighted the physical and mental effort required to secure the result. 'It was a very hard-fought match. We came into it after two hugely demanding games against CD Castellón and I guess that made the contest a little more physical. We knew that not losing here would be a positive result and now we must give everything at home.'

The experienced goalkeeper also praised the overall performance of the team and pointed to the standards required for the decisive return leg: 'We put in a really solid all-round performance. I believe that's the path we need to follow and the attitude we have to show next Saturday at home. Everyone has to leave everything on the pitch for the team and if we do that, things will go well for us.'

At the heart of UD Almería's defence, Rodrigo Ely delivered another commanding display and expressed pride in the team's efforts while reminding everyone that the job is far from finished. 'We did what we needed to do and we were intelligent throughout the game. But nothing has been decided yet. We'll be playing for everything at home,' stated the Brazilian.