Valencia midfielder Carlos Soler has revealed the anger he and his team-mates felt at the controversial goal scored by Marouane Fellaini that ended their Champions League campaign.
Fellaini plundered a 91st-minute winner in Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Young Boys at Old Trafford a fortnight ago to send Jose Mourinho’s side through to the last 16 at the expense of Valencia.
Replays showed Fellaini used his right hand to control the ball before turning to score the winner, a transgression that was missed by the match referee.
Soler said he was “p***ed off” at the manner of Fellaini’s goal, and said the handball that went unpunished had cost Valencia the chance of taking on United in Wednesday's group finale for a place in the last 16.
Instead, the Spanish side go into the Europa League last 32, regardless of the result against United.
“It’s true that the hand of Fellaini helped them a lot,” said Soler. “If he hadn’t scored, we would have our opportunities still intact.
“Obviously we’re a bit p***ed off with the situation, but we cannot change it so we have to look forward.”
United head to Valencia with the Spanish side in even more turmoil than them.
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Valencia – considered Spain’s fourth biggest club behind Barcelona and Madrid duo Real and Atletico – have won only three of their 15 La Liga games this season and sit a lowly 15th in the table.
Their poor start, mirrored by Mourinho’s United in the Premier League, has left coach Marcelino Garcia Toral under pressure – and he has been clashing with his leading players too.
Tension bubbled over between Toral and star striker Goncalo Guedes – who is yet to score since he signed from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer – in the 2-0 defeat away to Real Madrid at the start of this month.
Toral called Guedes to the touchline less than half an hour into the game at the Bernabeu.
Cameras caught him telling the Portugal international, “there have been 27 minutes, and you have not yet done anything”. Guedes was seen to react angrily, as they continued their spat.
With more shades of events at Old Trafford, another of Toral’s strikers, Santiago Mina, has added to the unease by attacking his team-mates for lacking spirit and commitment.
Mina said: “We are playing without personality, without any depth to our play. Everything is missing and we must learn from this quickly. We know we are not doing the right things.
“We have been discussing this and trying to rectify it. But it is not going to be an easy process.”