Pirès demands more from Villarreal

Robert Pirès urged his Villarreal CF team-mates to "play faster" and start finishing if they are to stand a chance of qualifying for the next stage of the UEFA Europa League.

Three wins
The experienced French midfielder's call for a more direct approach came in the wake of their 2-1 loss to S.S. Lazio on Matchday 3 when Tomasso Rocchi scored an added-time winner in Rome. The Italian side had been playing with a man fewer for the last 22 minutes after the dismissal of Matuzalem. "We have three games left. If we want to stay in the competition, we have to win all three," said Pirès, whose side host the Biancocelesti on Thursday. "If we beat Lazio, it will give us the confidence to start winning again in the future."

Off the mark
Since that defeat in Rome, which left the club in third position in Group G with three points from as many games, Villarreal have beaten Málaga CF 2-1 and CD Tenerife 5-0 at El Madrigal to lift themselves off the bottom of the Spanish Liga and their fragile confidence may be returning. "We've had bad luck this year in both the championship and Europa League because we've played well but just haven't got the results," added Pirès, refusing to blame the summer coaching change when the hugely-successful Manuel Pellegrini departed for Real Madrid CF and was replaced by Ernesto Valverde. "We haven't changed anything. We have the same players and the same training programme, but when you are on a bad run, it's difficult to escape. I think we have the quality to get out of this situation."

Sucker punch
Villarreal got off to a blistering start in the Italian capital with five excellent chances inside the opening ten minutes. Led by Nilmar, they were unable to convert and then succumbed to the classic sucker punch when Lazio's first attack brought an immediate reward through Mauro Zárate. "Yes, we played very well. We had a lot of chances but football is like that," he continued. "If you don't put your chances away, it's difficult to win a game. We should have kept hold of the ball at the end to get a draw."

'Kill the game'
The former Arsenal FC playmaker was also in no mood to indulge in superlatives over Sebastián Eguren's equaliser at the Stadio Olimpico, a fine team goal that featured passes from virtually the whole crew of the Yellow Submarine. "It was a great goal to score but it didn't mean we won," added the 36-year-old. "We have to try harder in training and start finding the net during matches. Sometimes you have to kill the game; playing faster with fewer passes."