‘We should have killed them’: Villarreal defender claims Arsenal lucky to escape with narrow loss in Europa League
La Liga side were 2-1 home winners in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final with the Gunners
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Villarreal defender Pau Torres has admitted that his team let Arsenal off the hook in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
The hosts were 2-1 winners in Spain, taking the lead early through Manu Trigueros before Raul Albiol doubled the La Liga side’s advantage on the half-hour mark.
Nicolas Pepe pulled one back for Arsenal from the penalty spot in the second half, after team-mate Dani Ceballos was sent off and before ex-Spurs man Etienne Capoue was shown a red card for Villarreal.
“They escaped alive,” Torres said at full-time, per Diario AS.
“It’s clear that we’ve won and it’s a good result, but seeing how the game went we should have killed them.
“I can’t explain what’s happened [in the second half]. We’ve had clear chances, they’ve found a penalty that I haven’t seen.”
In the Villarreal dugout was former Arsenal coach Unai Emery, Mikel Arteta’s predecessor in north London.
In the evening’s other semi-final first leg, Manchester United were 6-2 victors at home to Roma.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments