Soldado believes the team had a great game against Bayer but is aware the tie is far from being decided
The Villarreal striker, Roberto Soldado highlighted the team’s attitude and intensity as the factors that led to the win in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 first leg against Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2-0), although they still have to finish the job against the Germans. “We felt great from the first minute. We came out with high intensity, creating chances and I don’t think Bayer were able to feel comfortable out there even for a minute. We showed that we were better on the pitch and I think we put in a great all round performance for 90 minutes. It was a shame not to have extended our lead even more. In any case, we’re really happy with the 2-0 win and now we have to think about scoring a goal in the second leg to put the knockout phase to bed. We can’t believe it’s won at any moment even though it’s a very good result”.
Soldado also believes the victory has been very uplifting for the squad, who will face some difficult encounters in the coming weeks. “The team needed a match like that after losing to Las Palmas. We needed to regain those winning feelings in face of the Sevilla match, as they’re right behind us in the table and want to take over us. It won’t be easy by any means and next week we also have the second leg against Leverkusen and then a visit to Barcelona. We can’t wait for these matches though, they’ll be really good, and I think our team, if we’re all at 100%, can compete with anyone”.
Furthermore, Soldado explained that the Submarine must now play every match like it’s the last, so they take advantage of their chances. “We can’t make the end of the season hard for us because otherwise we’ll suffer. We must play every game to the best of our ability now, we can’t trip up at home and must think about what getting three points in each match can achieve. If we make the most of our opportunities, we’ll go far”.
