The Villarreal head coach underlined that Elche’s cutting edge was the difference in a tight match that was heading for a draw
Villarreal head coach Unai Emery appeared in front of the media to analyse the defeat to Elche (1-0). The Basque manager was frustrated with the defeat in a tie that looked to be ending in a draw: “They tried to stop us from playing. At 0-0, it felt like the result was going to stay like that. Keeping a clean sheet was crucial, as was generating dangerous chances to score. In the end, it was them who found that cutting edge and not us. It looked like it was going to be a draw.”
Emery recognised that Villarreal need to generate more goalscoring opportunities to win: “We need to create more danger. We had a chance through Yeremy and then another from Jackson at the end. That’s not enough. We need to create more. They had one and they scored from a piece of play where we weren’t well organised.
Finally, the Basque manager underlined that the game went exactly as Elche had wanted: “They’re a good team, in good form. We weren’t clinical. We could have won, but we also could have lost if they got things right, and that’s what happened. They didn’t give us anything. They were intense, they tried to make things happen and capitalise on their chances. It went perfectly for them.”
