Llorente delighted to steer Villarreal through

Joseba Llorente told uefa.com that Villarreal CF were "proud to be among the best eight teams in Europe" after coming off the bench to score the winning goal in a 2-1 victory at Panathinaikos FC which cemented a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

'Fantastic'
The 29-year-old striker was brought on in place of Nihat Kahveci at half-time with the second leg still goalless – and 1-1 on aggregate – and a lively display helped to turn the tie in the Spanish side's favour. "It was fantastic for me to score the important goal and help the team qualify for the quarter-finals," said Llorente, who registered in the 70th minute after Ariel Ibagaza's opener (49) had been equalised by home forward Vangelis Mantzios (55).

'Huge pressure'
"It really is a historic moment for the club. Our goals came at key moments in the game and we managed to win despite huge pressure," Llorente continued. "We always felt going into the game that we could do it but it's one thing having the belief and convincing yourself you can achieve something but it is more complicated trying to make this happen on the football pitch. Still, we managed to do it and we are delighted."

New ground
Although it is not the first time Villarreal have reached the last eight – they went one better in 2006 before the Yellow Submarine's inaugural UEFA Champions League campaign was ended by a last-gasp penalty miss against Arsenal FC – they have broken new ground by sealing their passage away from El Madrigal. Llorente, a Real Valladolid CF player at that time, is looking forward to the challenges which lie ahead. "Anything can happen at this stage," he said. "At the moment we're playing with lots of confidence and will do our best to get through to the semi-finals, but now it's time to enjoy ourselves. We're proud to be among the best eight teams in Europe."