• Champions League

Gallas bemoans 'one of the worst defeats of my career'

ESPN staff
April 7, 2011
William Gallas was instrumental in victory over AC Milan, but could do little in the first leg against Real Madrid © Getty Images
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William Gallas has admitted Tuesday's 4-0 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid was among the lowest moments of his career.

The Frenchman was unable to stem the tide as Jose Mourinho's men ran riot in the first leg of the two sides' quarter-final meeting, as Gallas' former team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor led the Spanish side to a 4-0 triumph.

"It was one of the worst defeats in my career and it's very difficult to accept it," Gallas said. "Three years ago [with Arsenal] I lost in the semi-final [against Manchester United, in 2009]. That one was very difficult to accept but this was one of the worst. But now we have to forget about what went wrong straightaway and think about the next game.

"We have to be strong now. Saturday against Stoke is massive for us and we have to win because we've lost too many home points already. We have to start putting teams like Stoke away. We have to beat them - it's as simple as that."

Peter Crouch's early sending off was a major blow for Harry Redknapp's side, but goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes believes the striker must now put the incident behind him after apologising to the squad at the time.

"He said sorry to everyone at half-time," Gomes confirmed. "We cannot blame him - it has happened and the moment is gone. He needs to be strong to help us for the rest of the season."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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