Villarreal miss chance to state their intent
Monday, April 13, 2009
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Villarreal CF coach Manuel Pellegrini rued his side's lack of fortune as they lost 2-0 at home to Málaga CF while the other seven sides in UEFA Champions League action this week won. uefa.com rounds up the results.
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Seven of the eight clubs bidding for a place in the last four of the UEFA Champions League this week warmed up for their quarter-final deciders with victories at the weekend, leaving Villarreal CF as the odd side out after their 2-0 home reverse against Málaga CF – a match that coach Manuel Pellegrini said his side could have played "all night and the ball still wouldn't have gone in".
English quartet
The Yellow Submarine's quarter-final opponents Arsenal FC were one of three English clubs to score four goals in Saturday successes. Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC were the others – good news for the Anfield side who will need to be clinical in front of goal to turn round a 3-1 deficit at Stamford Bridge – while the fourth Premier League outfit, Manchester United FC, gave warning to FC Porto ahead of their return with a win away from home. Elsewhere, FC Bayern München reacted to their 4-0 first-leg defeat by FC Barcelona by recording an identical success of their own to keep them three points off the pace in the Bundesliga.
| Arsenal FC v Villarreal CF |
| Wigan Athletic FC 1-4 Arsenal FC (Mido 18; Walcott 61, Silvestre 71, Arshavin 90, Song 90) Arsène Wenger: "Wigan were very strong and committed in the first half. They were well organised, the 50-50s went to them and we had problems with their man-to-man marking. But in the second half our technique took over. We looked dangerous every time we had the ball. This young team has a lot of mental strength." |
| Villarreal CF 0-2 Málaga CF (Duda 38, Eliseu 86) Manuel Pellegrini: "We could have played out there all night and the ball still wouldn't have gone in: it was one of those days. Meanwhile, Málaga capitalised on their first shot on target, killed off the game with a counterattack and we ended up a man down. But in spite of it all we didn't give up the fight. Our injury problems are making life difficult." |
| FC Porto v Manchester United FC |
| FC Porto 3-0 CF Estrela da Amadora (Alves 29, Farías 58 66) Jesualdo Ferreira: "After the first goal we got better and better. It's natural that some players are tired, but slowly we found our rhythm. It was an important victory to maintain our cushion [atop the Liga standings] and it was good to shuffle things around a bit as that brings confidence and security." |
| Sunderland AFC 1-2 Manchester United FC (Jones 55; Scholes 19, Macheda 76) Sir Alex Ferguson: "Macheda has got something special about him. He has just got that instinct. He has got quickness in his movement and it showed when he came on. He wasn't fazed by anything. Right away, he got involved in the game and he had a good 20 minutes for us. The win is a boost, of course. At this point it is about cutting each game off as they come along." |
| Chelsea FC v Liverpool FC |
| Chelsea FC 4-3 Bolton Wanderers FC (Ballack 40, Drogba 48 63, Lampard 60pen; O'Brien 70, Basham 74, Taylor 78) Guus Hiddink: "If you play the top sides, you cannot afford to do this. We must not let it happen twice. It was a typical English game; leading 4-0 and looking for a fifth. All of a sudden we got very sloppy and were not winning any balls defensively. We were too relaxed." |
| Liverpool FC 4-0 Blackburn Rovers FC (Torres 5 33, Agger 83, N'Gog 90) Rafael Benítez: "To play a good game, score goals and not concede – it was the perfect response [to the Chelsea loss]. It could have been even better because we had clear chances, but I'm really pleased. Fernando was very important here – the first two goals opened up the game. Hopefully [the goal difference] will be vital. We were trying to score goals because we know anything can happen. [Premier League leaders Manchester] United are under pressure." |
| FC Bayern München v FC Barcelona |
| FC Barcelona 2-0 RC Recreativo de Huelva (Iniesta 1, Morris og 68) Josep Guardiola: "Winning proved a bit tricky as we lacked rhythm and that final step forward, but it's not always easy. The atmosphere tonight [at the stadium] was a bit cold but because of that I give a lot of value to this type of game; they can be more testing than any other. We won on an ugly evening without really shining." |
| FC Bayern München 4-0 Eintracht Frankfurt (Ribéry 3, Toni 17, Lucio 36, Schweinsteiger 48) Jürgen Klinsmann: "This was a classy reaction to the display in Barcelona. What happened there really smarts and we wanted to make amends with our supporters. After an hour everything was done and dusted and it became a wonderful spring day. We now have big ambitions for Tuesday and want to bid farewell to the Champions League having restored our credibility." |