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Villarreal coach Unai Emery was not satisfied with a 1-1 draw at home to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg on Wednesday.  

The Yellow Submarine came into the match having won 4-1 at Osasuna on Saturday and full of confidence. However, a first minute strike from Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic saw them fall behind at La Ceramica. It took until the 66th minute for captain Dani Parejo to receive Etienne Capoue’s pass and fire Emery’s side level. The sides meet in the second leg on 16 March and with no away goals counting, Villarreal will need to win in Italy.

Emery said in his post-match interview, carried by Marca: “We have not been scared and we have had maturity.

“We have been there, with options to equalize in the first half. We’ve received a goal, but the team has come back, has equalized and wanted more.

“We are left with the dissatisfaction of a draw. The goal doesn’t give you an advantage. You have to go to Turin to win. If you tie there will be extra time and penalties and if you lose you’re eliminated.”

Emery late commented on Juve’s Serbian striker and changes their coach Max Allegri made in-game: “They didn’t let us run much. They put De Sciglio on the left with a changed leg to stop Chukwueze.

“For me the best thing is the maturity we have had in the game. We don’t think about the next game. We wanted to win. They scored a goal for us. There are 90 minutes left.

“Vlahovic makes a difference. He did it on the first play and he was able to do it in the 85th minute. Disabling him one hundred percent is difficult, you need him to fail sometimes, but we have done an exceptional job on him and Morata”.

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Man of the Match Parejo: We dominated

The scorer of the equaliser and Man of the Match in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw, Dani Parejo commented on his goal and the second leg in Turin.

On an evening when the captain netted just his second goal in the UEFA Champions League, he told Marca: “It was a hard-fought game. If they score a goal in the first minute, it breaks your scheme a bit.

“I think that in the first half we dominated. We deserved to win and we were superior. I’m a little dissatisfied because we generated and stood up and if anyone deserved to win, it was Villarreal.

“We knew that they were going to press high. The first play we conceded and then it was more like what we expected from the game. When you play against this team with a top level of players, you can’t leave them even half occasion. He scored a great goal , but in the round of 16 you play against players like that.

“I’m happy with the goal on an individual level. We have to go to win. Here it’s not worth drawing. We planned the game to win it and we don’t care about the rival and the field.”

READ MORE: Dusan Vlahovic makes dream Champions League debut but Juventus pegged back by Villarreal

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