Despite a comfortable 4-0 win over Sporting Gijon, Valencia coach Unai Emery believes qualification for the UEFA Champions League will be difficult.
A first half goal from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jonas-c18967 Goncalves Oliveira was introduced in the second half and he helped Valencia with a brace
in injury time. The match ended with the hosts comfortably winning with a four-goal margin.
In the aftermath of the league encounter, Emery stated that he was pleased with the end result and how his strategy worked for the match.
"We knew that Sporting Gijon closed down very well and that the victory would depend on ourselves, on our capacity to break the deadlock," he said.
"After we were 1-0 up, the match was more open and that benefited everyone. We are happy to keep a winning run."
Victory over the hapless Sporting was Valencia’s first of the 2012 calendar year. Los Che had a winless run for five consecutive La Liga matches, recording 4 draws and 1 loss.
Their form has allowed European hopefuls to close the gap in La Liga points-table and the Hondarribia-born coach accepted that securing continental qualification will be difficult for his side.
Emery reflected that they lack the quality and depth in the squad as compared to the likes of Real Madrid and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604, and he predicted that the fixtures will become harder as the season progresses.
"Winning this league is very hard and we are not at the same level as Real Madrid or Barcelona, it is very hard for us to beat everyone."
Unai Emery was cautious in his post-match conference and remained unsure over securing a UEFA Champions League qualification with ease.
He stated that Valencia have a tough schedule ahead, travelling to Catalonia for their La Liga fixture against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
"It will be hard for us to stay in the Champions League places," Emery said.
The win against Sporting has allowed Valencia to put a gap between themselves and the rest of the Champions League hopefuls. After the win, Los Che have a comfortable eight-point advantage over Espanyol and Levante, who are respectively 4thand
5th with equal points.
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