• What They Said

'We had to suffer a little bit'- Villas-Boas

ESPN staff
November 5, 2011
Frank Lampard earned all three points for Chelsea © Getty Images
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Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas breathed a sigh of relief after his side snapped a run of two consecutive Premier League losses with a 1-0 win at Blackburn.

"We are very happy because we needed this stimulus of a win before the international break to make sure everybody goes into the break with a better feeling. It (the clean sheet) was important. It is always important to win the game, no matter what are the conditions. We had to suffer a little bit but we managed to hold onto a clean sheet. It is never easy at Ewood Park, particularly when you are going through back-to-back defeats in the Premier League and bearing in mind that Blackburn are in desperate need of points.''

The defeat piles more pressure on Rovers boss Steve Kean, but he shrugged off a small post-match protest and instead chose to hail another fine performance from his team who could have taken at least a point.

"I don't feel let down because I think my players gave it everything. We are disappointed not to take anything from the game after creating that amount of chances. I feel like we should have taken at least a point but the overall performance not only in this game but in others recently has been excellent."

On the 25th anniversary of his arrival at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his players were feeling the pressure during their 1-0 win at home to Sunderland.

"I think there was some anxiety about our play but credit to Sunderland because they battled hard. They are going through a sticky patch but I can't see how they're going to be in trouble. Steve [Bruce] is a great manager and has done fantastically well."

United marked the 25th anniversary of Ferguson's appointment as manager of Manchester United by renaming Old Trafford's north stand in his honour : "I didn't expect that [the presentation] today. I felt very honoured and emotional to see my name on that stand. I didn't know a thing about it."

Former Manchester United defender Steve Bruce admitted he was disappointed not to take anything away from Old Trafford.

"I'm never destined to get everything here [at Old Trafford]. I think I've had all my good times. For all United's great play to lose to an own goal from a set piece is disappointing. Wes Brown couldn't do much about it. I think we have the nucleus of a very good squad and we've seen signs here again. We'll keep plodding away and hopefully things will change."

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was left to rue his side's inability to convert their chances as Swansea held them to a 0-0 draw.

"We did not do what we are capable of today and credit to Swansea for that. I am disappointed with the level of performance we produced but, as much as we have to respect the opposition, we need to see what we can do not to repeat a performance like that again."

Meanwhile, Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for his players. "It was fantastic. I felt we were equipped to come to a big team and put in a big performance," he said. "Today was a chance to show we have now grown into the league. We started very well but to put in a performance like that at a big club with top players fills me with great pride.

"I thought we were outstanding. We got a bit of fortune early on but you need that but I don't think there was anything lucky about the result or the performance. I think my players deserve every plaudit they get from the game. Collectively as a team they were outstanding."

Rodgers praised keeper Michel Vorm for his second successive clean sheet at Anfield, having played for Utrecht in a goalless draw in the Europa League last season. "When he has been called upon he has great agility. There are probably not too many goalkeepers come to Anfield and keep clean sheets. He made a terrific save at the end and I thought we were deserving of that as a team collectively and Michel was a part of that."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger labelled striker Robin van Persie "world class" after he put in another inspired performance in the 3-0 rout of West Brom.

"I don't know where he ranks [compared to other Arsenal greats]," he said. "The only thing I know is that he is world class. When I was a kid they had in Germany a ranking of national class, international class and world class, and in world class were only four or five players, or maybe even ten players. I would put him in that calibre."

Regarding the team's performance, he added: "The spirit of the squad was right from the first to last minute. We worked well together and I always was positive with the team because one month ago we were in a very bad situation. You felt there is a desire to do well and now it goes better it is still there. This team wants to improve, wants to work hard and wants to get better and better. That is the most satisfying aspect today."

Robin van Persie extended his scoring record to 29 goals in 28 league games © PA Photos
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Counterpart Roy Hodgson rejected the notion that West Brom did not work hard enough.

Asked whether he agreed that his side looked beaten before they started, he replied: "I am afraid I have to disagree with you there. I would even go as far as to say that, of all the things that could be levelled at us, that might be the least relevant or least correct comment.

"The one thing I think we did do today was put in one hell of a shift and I thought we had to because we were up against a very good Arsenal team in form, who were rampant. You could accuse of lacking a bit of quality at times, you could accuse us of, in the first half, playing the ball forward too early. You could accuse us of those things and I might agree with you, but one thing I certainly will not agree with you is that the players did not put in a shift. That is an accusation bordering on the scandalous."

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew hailed his side's battling qualities as they continued their impressive start to the season with a 2-1 win at home to Everton.

"It was one of those games today where we got disrupted. We lost two key players, but the guys who came on did well. "It shows another side of us - that we have strength in depth. They had their big guns come off bench and come at us but we defended solidly. It was one of our best defensive performances. We had that disruption and we lost our rhythm but we kept ball and were clever.''

Everton boss David Moyes was left to rue missed opportunities, and in particular the decision by referee Andre Marriner to deny his side a penalty, as the Toffees stretched their recent run to six defeats in seven games in all competitions.

"If you look at chances, we probably had more chances than Newcastle in the first half and we were on the verge of going in 2-0 down, so the goal before half-time gave us a real lifeline. But we couldn't quite get the opening or opportunity. We didn't get as many chances in the second half, albeit I have seen it and it is a stonewall penalty when it hits his hand. The ball was going in as well, so it had beaten the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper wasn't getting it.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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