Valencia CF will head to the Weserstadion next week happy in the knowledge that their 1-1 home draw against Werder Bremen could have been significantly worse – in fact by the players' own admission they could be practically out of the competition.
Juan Mata, who ensured that this is not the case by scoring a second-half equaliser, told UEFA.com that it had been a close shave. "We weren't the real Valencia for part of that match and Werder had chances to kill the tie off completely – thankfully they didn't take them.
"I think their goal knocked us back because we all realised the importance of them getting the away goal. But what I'll take away from the game is how we responded in the second half after Éver Banega's red card. We played well, we created chances and we finished the match with a good feeling about what we had achieved."
Torsten Frings scored Bremen's opener from the penalty spot in the 24th minute, and things improved for the visitors when Banega was dismissed in the 55th minute. Within two minutes the tie was level, although Mata knows there is still plenty of work to be done. "German sides, as we found out again tonight, are always really competitive," he said. "You think that they are out of a game and suddenly they'll hit you with one isolated attack and score. The goal gave us wings and even with ten men we caused them problems, which is something we will all take away from this experience."
The UEFA Europa League's leading scorer, Claudio Pizarro did not add to his eight goals and was one of the men in orange who failed to convert chances to earn Bremen a more significant advantage. "It was a night for the goalkeepers," he said. "We didn't get the goals we deserved because César [Sànchez] played very well, but so did Tim [Wiese]. I guess it was the keepers' turn to shine.
"It's a pity I didn't score because I'd have loved to add to my total but it's even more of a shame that the team didn't get more because we had loads of chances. All the same, we are relaxed about the result. We played very well, particularly in the first half, but we found the going a little more difficult in the second even though we had 11 against ten. Now it's time to finish the job at home."
Valencia's Mata Glad to Escape on Terms
