Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi admits it is an 'honour' to play in La Liga after reflecting on his first seven months at Mestalla.
The Germany international has developed into an important player for Los Che since arriving from Sampdoria on the back of his World Cup exploits in the summer, forging a centre-back partnership with Nicolas Otamendi.
“The team know they've missed points against lesser rivals. That's one of the objectives for the second round of the season,” he told AS.
“We work all week and there's been no difference. Our objective this week is Monday [against Malaga], and we're doing everything like usual [to prepare for the match].
“We have enough to preoccupy ourselves with training [referring to Cristiano Ronaldos red card against Cordoba], and the appropriate personnel will do the right thing.
“What I'd like to see is that the same punishment is handed out for the same incident to every player.
“[Ronaldo's actions with the Club World Cup badge] was a way of expressing his frustration.
“I don't look at the [World Cup] stars on my chest when I play for Germany, [2014] has passed.
“When I play with the national team, my country, I want to do my best I can.
“Everyone's free to express frustration in their own way, but the truth is that I care little about the topic.
“I didn't think the level of La Liga would be so high. It's an honour for young players like myself to play this League. Every team have great players.
“The most important thing is that the Coach trusts me to play in one system or another.
“The Coach decides who plays and who doesn't, and the players have to adapt to what he asks of them in each game.
“Malaga's an important game. All games are important from now on, and we can't relax.”