Anderson leads Celtic onslaught

By Luke Nicoli

Villarreal CF striker Sonny Anderson believes all-out attack is the best option if his team are to progress past Celtic FC on Wednesday night and reach the UEFA Cup semi-finals.

Unreliable advantage
The Primera División side hold a narrow advantage following last week's 1-1 draw at Celtic Park but relying on the away goals rule is not an option for the Brazilian. "We have the advantage of scoring in Glasgow but we can't rely on it," Anderson told uefa.com.

Attack, attack, attack
"We have to start the game as if the score is 0-0 and the key is to go for the victory," he added. "If we go into the game trying to maintain the 1-1 scoreline then I'm sure Celtic will knock us out. We have the advantage, but that doesn't make us favourites by any means."

Larsson peril
A first-half headed goal by Josico had put the Spaniards in the driving seat in the first leg until Henrik Larsson cancelled out the strike in the 64th minute. The Swedish centre-forward is hoping to bring the curtain down on his Celtic career with another UEFA Cup final appearance and Anderson, who is joint top-scorer in this season's competition with five goals, believes he is the biggest threat to Villarreal's chances.

'We have to keep possession'
"Larsson is a very dangerous striker and much of their attacking play centres on him," the 33-year-old said. "Celtic will attack us whenever they can so we have to try and cut out the supply line to him. That means we have to take the initiative and work very hard. If we give our opponents time and space, we will have problems. We have to keep possession of the ball."

Major coup
Villarreal have exceeded expectations in their first season of UEFA Cup football, with their fourth-round defeat of AS Roma arguably the biggest shock of the tournament so far. Anderson maintains that his team are inexperienced at this level but believes that success against Martin O'Neill's men would be their greatest achievement yet.

Valuable lesson
"If we get through, it will signal the most important step in this club's history because Celtic have much more experience in Europe than us," he said. "What we have to do is build on the experience we gained in Glasgow, where we learned that in Europe you can play very well but still end up without the victory. This game will be like another exam for us but if we play as well as we did last week and do not win, we will be very disappointed."

Valencia prospects
Victory in the El Madrigal stadium could also set up an all-Spanish semi-final against Valencia CF, and although Anderson refuses to look too far ahead, he is aware of the importance of that match, saying: "It would be an intriguing game but, more importantly, it would mean we would be just one step away from the final."

Fan fanfare
"It's at times like these that our supporters can also play their part and hopefully they'll really get behind the team," added Anderson. "Celtic will have thousands coming to our place and our fans need to sing as if it's the final itself."