Villarreal coach Unai Emery admits they were flat for defeat at Alaves.

Emery fielded a shadow team with an eye on the second-leg of their Champions League semifinal against Liverpool.

The coach underlined that Alavés' early goal was key to his side being defeated in Vitoria 2-1. He said: “What was key was who scored the first goal, because it was going to be mentally very important. They did so, and they made the game into the game they wanted it to be. We took control and had chances, but they caused us problems easily. We lacked defensive aggression in both of their goals. In attack, we had chances, but we weren't clinical."

For Emery, the opposition made the game uncomfortable for the Yellows: “I was expecting a very difficult game. Alavés used every trick possible. They tried to take the game to where they wanted it to be, and deactivate us. Alavés played the game they needed to play and we can't criticize anything."

Regarding the changes, the Basque head coach said the following: “There was a plan for the game after Wednesday's match. We now have experience in this. Going into half-time at 2-0 made me think the second half would be demanding. That's why I preferred to use other resources. From there on, the rest of the changes were looking to get a better result."