Rossi frustrated by dropped points

Published Nov. 21, 2010 12:22 p.m. ET

foxsports

Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi felt his side missed a chance to strengthen their grip on third spot after being held 1-1 by Valencia.

Aritz Aduriz gave Valencia an early lead but Rossi drew Villarreal level in the 73rd minute and the Yellow Submarine received a further boost soon after when the visitors lost Marius Stankevicius to a red card.

However, Villarreal could not take make the most of their numerical superiority and they had to settle for a draw which kept them three points above fourth-placed Valencia in the standings.

Rossi feels the gap should be twice as big as that now, though, saying: "It was a real shame because we had chances to be able to win the game.

"I think that in the second half we were better, more aggressive and with the desire to get the win, but we've not been able to get the second goal.

"We're still well-placed in the table, but here we had a good opportunity and we couldn't take advantage of it."

Rossi's goal was his eighth in La Liga this season and the Italy international looks well on his way to having the best return of his career, with his previous best campaign coming two years ago when he netted 12 times for Villarreal.

The 23-year-old said on his club's website: "I feel good, I'm happy on the pitch and this season everything is working perfectly."

Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido said of the draw: "The result doesn't leave us happy.

"I think that the only result we would've been satisfied with was the win. We dominated a lot of the play, had a lot of goalscoring opportunities and allowed few for Valencia. The team had a good game and deserved the win."