Franco frustrated as Villarreal let it slip

One of the famous images from the 2006 UEFA Champions League semi-final at El Madrigal is of Villarreal CF striker Guille Franco crying helplessly at the stark reality of being pipped for a place in the Paris final by Arsenal FC.

Gifted result
With the two teams now balanced at 1-1 after their quarter-final first leg ahead of the return in London next Wednesday, all Franco feels is frustration and annoyance. No desperation, no tears. "My view is that we gifted Arsenal that result and all because of a poor 20-minute period in the second half," he argued. "Villarreal had the initiative, as well as the lead and we let it slip.

Senna opener
"All of a sudden we didn't have anyone who knew how to hold the ball up, we tossed away possession too quickly and that meant we didn't stretch Arsenal even when we had the ball. We allowed them to push us back and all our defensive players were left constantly chasing Arsenal." Franco's tone was analytical, rather than angry, but he outlined why frustration was his dominant emotion after Villarreal let slip the advantage given by Marcos Senna's outstanding tenth-minute goal.

Challenge intact
"Not only did we already know that at this level of the Champions League you always pay dearly for gifting the ball away, but it feels worse because immediately when we started stringing three or four passes together again the chances began to arrive. Sadly we didn't manage to convert any of them but we have to accept the blame lies with a bad 20-minute period in the second half."

Arsenal smooth
Arsenal looked as smooth and confident in their short period of ascendancy as they had appeared ruffled and under pressure in the first half. However, with Cesc Fàbregas increasingly imposing himself in the attacking third of the pitch Arsenal's rally eventually brought a cleverly improvised goal from Emmanuel Adebayor after 66 minutes. That eventually sparked Villarreal's attempt to get back in control of the match. Franco now refuses to accept that a home draw signals the beginning of the end of his side's UEFA Champions League challenge.

Intelligent performance
"We had the same result in the last round against Panathinaikos and then went to Athens and won," the Mexican international said. "I think that experience will certainly help us with the task ahead in London. We'll attack, we'll try to avoid getting pushed so far back and in general we will try to show what I'd call a typical Villarreal performance. To win we will need to produce a complete match and an intelligent display, but I've got faith we can do it and faith is the very last thing that you lose. I think this team totally believes that it can still achieve a place in the semi-final."