Marcelino Garcia Toral takes blame for Villarreal's disastrous Europa League defeat to Marseille

Villarreal’s time in the Europa League is effectively at an end, having lost 4-0 to Marseille in the first leg of their last 16 tie on Thursday evening. Barring a miracle at the Ceramica next week, the Yellow Submarine will bow out of Europe – potentially for two seasons at least, given their current position in the La Liga table.

It was a terrible performance from Villarreal, especially in defence. Head coach Marcelino Garcia Toral, on his return to the side he managed for barely two months at the start of the season, took full responsibility for the defeat when he spoke post-match, as per Diario AS.

“We broke from good dynamic of play and competitiveness that we had been demonstrating. We were well below that level. We played against a good team that showed efficiency. We have to congratulate them because they were better and they got it very right. They played better. We didn’t live up to our standards, and I’m responsible for that. I didn’t make the right decisions and I take responsibility for this outcome.

“The opponent was superior in duels, intensity and efficiency. And we played well below our level. We weren’t the team we had been, where we competed at a very high level on the road. This team had been conceding a lot of goals this season and we had stopped that bleeding. But that wasn’t the case today.”

Villarreal take on Real Betis on Sunday, before that return leg against Marseille next Thursday. After that, their full focus will be on ensuring they finish as high as possible in the league, and they could end up sneaking into the European places for next season.