Villarreal head coach Unai Emery hit back at criticism from Bayern Munich chief executive Oliver Kahn about the way the Spanish side played after they knocked the Bundesliga leaders out of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Taking a 1-0 advantage into the second leg on Tuesday at the Allianz Arena, the Yellow Submarine defended resolutely and scored a late goal to secure a 1-1 draw on the night, going through to the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate.
Robert Lewandowski had levelled the tie early in the second half via Thomas Muller's assist, but Samuel Chukwueze put Villarreal through with his goal in the 88th minute.
Speaking after Bayern's elimination, Kahn said: "There are few less pleasant teams to play against [than Villarreal]."
In response at a news conference following the game, Emery said: "Well, we do need to respect opinions, but they are totally unfair. The match is played in two games: 90 minutes [in Villarreal], where we were better than them, where we got a difference in the scoreboard, and today we played a match in which we haven't lost.
"The talk is that they wanted to be more aggressive in the pressure, and in fact, Lewandowski committed two aggressive tackles and the referee didn't send him off, which I understand because he shouldn't, and then they claimed a second card for Juan Foyth. But it was a clean game, well played."
The former Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal manager also addressed accusations of time-wasting against his team.
"Logically, we played for time, but also in Villarreal we played like this," he added. "Like with the goalkeeper, if they do not want to come and pressure, we gain our time. It is not that we do not want to play, we want them to come and pressure us. Today they did it, that is why it cost us more. [In the first leg], they didn't [pressure us].
"So what I want to say is that each team has tactics, but respect, I will never lose it. If someone disrespects [me], it is not that I will respect him, but I will omit him.
"[Kahn] said that they had bad luck and that we surprised them... well, one needs to be a man."
Villarreal captain Dani Parejo also did not hold back when speaking about Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
"When the draw took place and Villarreal was their opponent, I believe that their coach... well, I do not know him, but I think he showed a little bit of disrespect, not to Villarreal, but to football," Parejo told Movistar+.
"And our club in this case, when he said that he wanted to decide the tie in the first leg. I trust that this was a lack of respect to us.
"In the end, when you spit in the wind, sometimes it returns straight to you."
O'Neil looking to flip the script against Villa after tough start to season
Gary O'Neil admitted that Wolves may be second favourite in every game, but he is hoping they can flip the script against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.
Wolves have endured a difficult start to the season with one draw and three losses, including a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United last weekend after they failed to hold onto their lead.
They sit 18th in the Premier League table and go into the weekend having also been knocked out of the EFL Cup after suffering a 3-2 defeat to Brighton on Wednesday.
O'Neil did not shy away from their run of poor form and is hopeful they can start to get results that match their performances.
"Of course, should haves and could haves aren't going to help us, but moving forward you can still see that we're giving ourselves good opportunities to win football matches against tough teams," O'Neil told BBC Radio WM.
"Unfortunately, at this moment in time, we haven't managed to turn one [result] our way. The lads are still taking a lot of heart from [the Brighton game].
"So far, my guess would be that we have been second-favourite in every game. I think we will be for the next few as well so, we're having to fight against the odds at the minute.
"We are doing enough to get results, but we are falling a bit short."
Meanwhile, Villa have lost just one of their four Premier League outings so far and came from 2-0 down to beat Everton 3-2 in their last such match.
The Villans are returning to Premier League action on a high after opening their Champions League campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory over Young Boys.
Youri Tielemans was delighted with their showing in Europe but already has his focus back on the top-flight.
"For our first match, it was amazing," Tielemans said. "We can enjoy this and focus on the next game now.
"It was a good performance from myself, from the team, so we can move forward."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aston Villa – Jhon Duran
Jhon Duran has scored the winning goal in all three of Villa's Premier League victories this season, with all three coming as a substitute.
No player has scored four winning goals from the bench in a single campaign in Premier League history.
Wolves – Andre
Andre completed all of his 40 passes for Wolves against Newcastle United before being withdrawn (100%).
He also won five of his nine duels and won possession four times in his first start for Wolves.
MATCH PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA WIN
Villa beat Wolves 2-0 in their last league meeting in March last season – only in their first two such encounters in 2003-04 have they won consecutive Premier League games against them.
The Villans have won three of their four Premier League games this season, losing the other against Arsenal. Only in 1998-99, 2009-10 and 2020-21 have they won as many as four of their first five in a single campaign in the competition.
However, between March and Christmas 2023, Villa conceded just eight goals in 16 Premier League home games (0.5 per game), and never more than once in a match in that time. Since then, they have conceded 26 goals in 12 games at Villa Park (2.2 per game), conceding at least twice in 10 of those (including each of the last four).
Meanwhile, Wolves have only lost one of their last five away league games against Aston Villa (D2 L2), though it was in this exact fixture last season (0-2).
Wolves have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (D3 L10) and are winless in seven (D1 L6) since a 2-1 win over Luton in April. It is their longest run without a victory since a run of 12 between April and August 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Aston Villa – 57.6%
Draw – 21.4%
Wolves – 21%
Postecoglou warns 'no easy or quick fix' for Spurs after Coventry scare
Ange Postecoglou acknowledged "there is no easy or quick fix" for Tottenham following their EFL Cup scare against Coventry City.
Spurs scraped through to the fourth round by the skin of their teeth, having been second-best against their Championship opponents for large periods of the tie at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Ben Davies had cleared off the line from Haji Wright minutes before Coventry took a deserved 63rd-minute lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante.
The Sky Blues looked set to book their place in the last-16 draw, but Djed Spence rounded off a neat move to equalise in the 88th minute then, deep into stoppage time, Brennan Johnson completed the turnaround to snatch victory from under Coventry's noses.
Postecoglou has been the subject of criticism this week after stating he "always" wins silverware in his second season at a club.
The Spurs boss knows his side still have a long way to go, but was pleased by the character demonstrated by his players in testing circumstances.
"We had to just hang in there somehow, and we did," he told Sky Sports. "We weren't fluent or cohesive.
"I have consistently said there is no easy or quick fix to where we want to get to and one result doesn't change that.
"Tonight, we showed what we have been missing the first four games. A little bit of spirit to fight our way and find a way to win a game of football."
Inzaghi content with Man City draw but laments Inter misses
Simone Inzaghi lamented Inter's missed opportunities but was broadly satisfied with their 0-0 draw at Manchester City on matchday one in the Champions League.
Inter produced an impressive performance at the Etihad Stadium, holding the team that beat them in the 2023 Champions League final to seal a memorable treble.
Matteo Darmian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan had huge chances to put the Nerazzurri ahead in the second half, though they were also fortunate to see Ilkay Gundogan miss two golden opportunities for City.
After becoming just the second coach to oversee a clean sheet in an away Champions League game versus Guardiola's City, Inzaghi heaped praise on his players.
"The players did really well, we knew the quality of our opponents, but we worked well and could have hurt them more in some situations," he told Amazon Prime Video Italia.
"In the final third we need to show skill and technique, which we do have in the squad.
"Against these sides like Manchester City and Real Madrid, you always seem like you might be able to score a goal, but then they manage to rescue it."
Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, meanwhile, said Inter were determined not to be intimidated by City following their defeat in the 2022-23 showpiece game.
"We wanted to show that we are not scared to play here. We play football the way they do, with sacrifice we showed that we can also play football," Calhanoglu said.
"We enjoyed ourselves against a very strong team and could also have won, but with the right courage and spirit of sacrifice, we proved that we can compete against anyone."
Inter will now turn their focus to the Derby della Madonnina against Milan in Serie A on Sunday.
"It will be a derby, we all know what that means for the club and our fans," Inzaghi said. "They never stopped singing tonight in Manchester.
"We will stay here overnight, fly back tomorrow and try to prepare the match in just a few days."
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