Strachan reflects on what might have been

There was a sense of what might have been in the post-match conference which followed Celtic FC's 2-0 victory against Villarreal CF, with Gordon Strachan lamenting lost points in previous outings in Group E. Manuel Pellegrini, meanwhile, felt "the order of the group is correct", with his side following Manchester United FC into the knockout rounds.

Gordon Strachan, Celtic manager
I thought we played some good stuff tonight. The frustration for me has all been away from home. We were a penalty away from beating Aalborg, six minutes away from beating Manchester United and anyone who watched the game knows that we should have won in Aalborg, so that's a few points that have got away from us. When I was at Aberdeen, we took a few hits before we tasted success – we lost to Liverpool, Hamburg, Eintracht Frankfurt. But the longer we stay together as a group, the more encouragement we will get.

Manuel Pellegrini, Villarreal coach
We had a good first half with three good chances before Celtic scored. I didn't see the sending off [of Guille Franco in the 35th minute] so I can't comment, but it really changed the game. I'm not surprised at how Celtic played as they are strong at home, but the order of the group is the correct one. I don't feel we have lost anything because we have qualified.