Quique Sánchez Flores watched his side beat Getafe 3-0 at Mendizorroza on the opening weekend, with Nahuel Tenaglia breaking the deadlock before substitute Mariano Díaz took over in the closing stages, scoring one and setting up Mikel Rodríguez for the third. Getafe had played the entire second half with ten men after Kiko Femenía was sent off in the 42nd minute.
"It's a good result against a very physical opponent, one that makes things very difficult for you and interrupts the game a lot, and we found ourselves in a very different kind of match to the one we wanted," Sánchez Flores said.
"We were patient, we played to the rhythms of the game, and we were able to run in the final stretch, which is something that's very good for us because we're a team that's strong in transitions. We're happy because we kept a clean sheet, we didn't concede much and we had plenty of shots."
Mariano needed just over half an hour after coming on to settle the contest, directly involved in all three goals. The Madrid-born coach revealed he had held a pointed conversation with the striker during the week about letting go of the past.
"I'm very calm about Mariano. During the week we had a really interesting conversation. He had too much weight on his shoulders. He was thinking too much about what had already happened. The past is history in football. Everything he has ahead of him is still to be written. That's a message so that Mariano feels good, doesn't drop off and can be important for us."
Mariano joined Alavés as a free agent last summer following his release by Sevilla, after a spell repeatedly disrupted by injuries, and Sánchez Flores made clear the club sees restoring his confidence as a collective task.
"He's a player who, at his best, would be out of our reach. We have the privilege of having him and hopefully we can all accompany him on that journey, because he can be very important for him."
The clean sheet was the standout defensive statistic on an afternoon when Alavés briefly topped the table. Sánchez Flores's side had struggled at the back last season, and the manager pointed to concentration as the key to shutting out Getafe.
"All the players were at a very high level of concentration. To beat a team like Getafe, it's important to always keep your focus because they're a very clever side that takes advantage of your lapses. I value not conceding a goal a great deal. The team interpreted the shape change after the break very well, and we're very pleased with the team's performance."
Sánchez Flores's half-time and late substitutions - bringing on Mariano and Mikel Rodríguez - proved the turning point of a match that had threatened to end goalless before Tenaglia broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute.