Valencia Draw Leaves Emery With Mixed Feelings

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It's not all plain sailing for Valencia coach Unai Emery (PA)

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Valencia had already secured a berth in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup going into last night’s clash with St. Etienne, but both teams were still battling it out to see who would qualify as group winners and earn a distinct advantage in the knockout round.

The clash at the Geoffroy-Guichard ended in a 2-2 draw after Los Che had to come from behind twice but the result meant that the French side would go through to the next phase top of Group G and Unai Emery’s men as runners-up.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling because we were not able to finish first in the group, but I value the efforts of my players in a very difficult game, on a very tough playing surface,” said Emery after the game.

“In the second half, I liked the way we advanced forward, but we left too much space at the back for our rivals to counter attack.”

The Basque-born trainer had words of praise for one of his fringe players, striker Nikola Zigic, who netted the crucial second equalising goal after coming on as a substitute.

“When he enters a game, he always delivers. He has qualities that suit the team very well and he has never been a problem for us,” assured Emery, referring to the player’s lack of playing time and the rumours of a possible exit.

Speaking about the team’s potential opponents in the round of 32 of the competition, the 37-year-old coach said he had no preference:

“All the rivals will be of a similar, high level. But it will be difficult for us because we have to face a team from the Champions League.”

The competition format states that teams who finish second in the UEFA Cup group stage will have to take on one of the eight sides who finished third in the Champions League group phase.

KS Leong, Goal.com