It was stalemate at the Mestalla stadium last night as goals from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sofiane-Feghouli-c33740 and Thomas Muller forced Valencia and Bayern Munchen to share the points in their Champions League encounter.
Both teams wanted to win this clash since it was the decider of who was going to finish on the top of Group F.
Despite the hosts featuring a full-strength squad, they were unable to control the match in the initial stages.
Their problems were compounded when Antonio Barragan was sent off on the 33rd minute.
The numerical disadvantage Valencia had was showing on the ground as they were pinned on the backline. Los Che were now more dependent on the counter-attack.
Their change of strategy paid off and got their breakthrough when the Algerian, Feghouli, found the back of the net with just 13 minutes left to play on the clock.
The Spaniards’ lead did not last that much as the visitors got the equalizer, thanks to a Muller strike after just five minutes.
Valencia’s goal scorer was excited with the result.
“It was a fantastic match. We have more than matched a great team, and deserved to qualify from the group.”
Feghouli admitted their intention was winning the match, but is also happy with the draw against Bayern.
“I gave as much as I could for the team. We wanted to win for the fans, but we have to be satisfied with the draw.”
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich captain, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Philipp-Lahm-c29929, was far from pleased with his side’s performance and admitted that they were rather lucky against the Spaniards.
“For a long time we played against ten men. But we often took the wrong decisions.”
“In the end, I think we were lucky to get the draw.”
Bayern boss, Jupp Heynckes, also commented on the performance of their opponents and felt Valencia were impressive throughout the match. He also admitted that they need to learn a lot from last night’s encounter.
“http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 defended very well. We could not find space, which gives us homework for the next match. They played very well, but it was a very even match,"
The share of spoils at the Mestalla means both teams have qualified to the last-16 of the Champions League.
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