Yesterday’s Champions League knockout round draw in Nyon threw up some intriguing battles between some of Europe’s superpowers but two teams who managed to avoid the continental big guns were Villarreal and Panathinaikos.
Instead, they found themselves paired against each other and there have been little complaints from either camp. Yellow Submarine captain, Marcos Senna, for one, was happy with the tie.
“Panathinaikos are a team who have played a lot in European competitions, but they are at their best at the moment after finishing first in Group B, which was a very complicated group,” he was quoted as saying by Marca.
“They are an accessible rival, although at this point, all the opponents are difficult,” he added.
The midfielder then went on to admit that he is slightly disappointed not to have home advantage in the crucial second leg.
“Our coach [Manuel Pellegrini] prefers to play the first leg away and the second leg at home, but it is not possible to get everything our way. We have a lot of time to analyse our opponents because we do not have too many matches to play in the next few months.
“What is clear is that we cannot rely on anyone else. What we must do is focus on ourselves and ensure we make it to the quarter-finals. Anything else and it will be a disappointment for all of us,” he concluded.
KS Leong, Goal.com
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