Pellegrini impressed by AaB character

Villarreal CF coach Manuel Pellegrini was generous in his praise of Aalborg BK as they denied their Spanish visitors a guaranteed berth in the next phase thanks to a 2-2 draw in Denmark in UEFA Champions League Group E. AaB's temporary coach Allan Kuhn was equally impressed by his side, calling their second 45 minutes "the best half we've played for a very long time".

Manuel Pellegrini, Villarreal coach
It was a good game, which we dominated for great parts. However, AaB fought well and they still have a chance of qualifying for the next stage. Aalborg played a great match and achieved the draw. I was particularly impressed by the free-kick for their second goal. We came here to win the game and get the three points because we wanted to ensure our place in the first knockout round. I felt that we deserved the victory here in Denmark but now we have to play against Manchester United and travel to Celtic Park. When we are faced with United in our stadium, we will try to win but we know that it will not be easy – although it won't be for them either. I never say how far my teams can go because we have to prove it on the field and ensure we reach the first knockout round. Then we'll have to see what rivals we have in each phase, although the last time we were here we reached the semi-finals. We have a good squad for the league and UEFA Champions League campaigns.

Allan Kuhn, AaB coach
I am extremely proud of our performance tonight. I think we played reasonably well in the first half in spite of being 1-0 down. Our second half, however, was the best half that we have played for a very long time and during that 45 minutes I definitely had the feeling that we could win this match. It was crucial for us to block Villarreal out wide, as they had so much success from out on the wings in the first match, and I think we succeeded in doing that tonight. I was impressed with how much belief my players had that they could do it, even when they were 1-0 down at half-time. Now if we defeat Celtic at home on 25 November we'll at least go on in the UEFA Cup in the new year.