Albert Celades has lamented his Valencia side not being able to score ‘our clear chances’ in their draw against Chelsea.
Los Che were held 2-2 by the West London team in a pulsating encounter at the Mestalla on Wednesday night, meaning they now must win on the final day at Ajax if they are to guarantee progress to the last 16.
Carlos Soler gave the hosts the lead and a Daniel Wass cross earned them a draw, with a fortuitous effort, but they spurned a series of opportunities to score more.
Striker Maxi Gomez missed two clear chances in the first half while strike partner Rodrigo Moreno was also guilty of not finding the net – including a glorious opportunity in the fifth minute of added time.
Additionally, captain Dani Parejo saw a penalty kick saved while the closing stages saw both sides go gung ho as they attempted to clinch the three points.
“The key was that we could not finish our clear chances,” Celades told reporters, as cited by El Mundo Deportivo.
“It was a very open game and we created multiple opportunities to win it, which would have reflected the balance of play.
“These players never give up, despite the adversities, with so many injured players and the rest have been accumulating many minutes.
“Reaching the last day depending on yourself is not bad. The difficult thing is when you are in a situation which does not depend on you.
“We will play against a very good team, but like Chelsea today, we will go there with the enthusiasm and ambition to win.
“We won at Stamford Bridge and today if someone deserved to win, it was us. I would highlight the ambition – at 2-2 we went to win the match to qualify directly, despite the risks, because if we lost we had to beat Ajax in the last day. I'm very proud of the players.”
Celades replaced the hugely-popular Marcelino Garcia Toral, who was sacked by the club in September.
