Villarreal manager Marcelino flames ex-Arsenal man Thomas Partey – ‘Difficult to play at that pace’

Villarreal manager Marcelino Garcia Toral has not held back in his criticism of former Arsenal Thomas Partey, after their 3-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night. He was not in a good mood after the culmination of their miserable Champions League campaign.

Partey was a controversial signing for Villarreal in the summer. He left Arsenal on a free, and is currently on trial for multiple accusations of rape and sexual assault, although he defends his innocence. Marcelino had avoided speaking about his legal trouble at the time, but did not hold back on his performances in Germany.

“Thomas [Partey], I think there’s a world of difference between the Thomas we know at Arsenal and this one. A world of difference. It’s very difficult to play at this pace in today’s football. So, I think it’s been six months now, and that’s enough time for this player to show us what he was capable of, or what he’s showing us now,” he told Marca.

Marcelino furious with Champions League campaign

The Yellow Submarine sunk to second bottom of the table, finishing with just a point from their eight games, and having conceded 18 goals in their eight matches. In La Liga, Villarreal have conceded just 21 goals in 20 games.

“It makes me quite angry, to be honest. I think we played a very poor first half. The opponent outplayed us in every aspect: intensity, pace, passing, chances created… and I think we didn’t get into their area because we played too defensively, too long, statically. Then, when we had opportunities to advance, we never did; the opponent created so many chances. We had a very, very poor first half. That’s impossible in Europe.”

Marcelino was asked if he felt his side had frozen in Leverkusen.

“No, I didn’t see that. I saw that we passed the ball almost as much to our teammates as to the opposition. So, we weren’t frozen, why would we be? We had nothing to lose and not much to gain. So no, I think the opponent outplayed us in terms of pace and desire to win. They were playing for a lot, it’s true, in front of their home crowd, and they outplayed us.”

Marcelino: ‘I am responsible for our Champions League run’

He was also asked to opine on Arnau Tenas’ mistake, allowing Leverkusen to open the scoring in comic fashion, but he was kinder to his goalkeeper.

“In football, mistakes happen, and in this Champions League campaign, we’ve made some very big ones. It’s difficult to win. I acknowledge that I am ultimately responsible for this poor Champions League run; we haven’t lived up to expectations, and now we have to focus on the league because there are 18 games left, where we are a very good team, and we have to keep it up.”

Villarreal return to La Liga this weekend against Osasuna, where they look to build on their bizarrely contrasting form. Through 20 games, it is their best ever La Liga campaign in terms of points.

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