Villareal strolled into the next round of the UEFA Cup with a comfortable 2-0 win over Elfsborg.  The Swedes did battle hard but were simply outclassed on the night.  They found themselves a goal down almost instantly but though they did go close to an equaliser on a couple of occasions the traffic was generally flowing in one way.  Villareal will view this as a job well done and they will be delighted to have confirmed their place in the knock out round already.  Elfsborg will also be glad to have this game over and done with but for other reasons - they were already out of the competition and their players will be looking forward to the long winter break after a gruelling season.

The home side were without Pires who picked up a bug while Rossi wasn't risked in attack despite returning from injury.  Tomasson started alongside Kahveci up front and turned in an excellent performance to grab two goals.  The gloss may have been taken from his night late on though when he missed a penalty for his hat-trick.  Elfsborg also shuffled their pack a little as Bjorck, Karlsson, Ilola and Alexandersson all missed out of the starting line up either through being rested or being ill.  The side also kept their 4-4-2 formation which, on reflection, they may feel was a little ambitious as they never really got a hold of the game in midfield.  For a team which frequently deploys a 4-5-1 it was an odd decision not to do so this time.

Villareal started in the perfect fashion when Tomasson swept into the net following Kahveci's low cross.  Going a goal down after only two minutes was a disaster for Elfsborg but they rallied though they remained under pressure.  Mathias Svensson was denied by a super Lopez save after pouncing on a Cygan error but Kahveci went close to doubling the lead with a couple of long efforts.  Avdic cracked the post from distance with Elfsborg's best attempt of the game but the match was secured shortly after the break when Tomasson grabbed his second.  Fernandez played him through with a delightful pass and the Dane made no mistake.  That knocked the stuffing out of Elfsborg and they almost conceded a third when Wiland brought Tomasson down in the box late on.  The goalkeeper made amends though as he saved the spot kick to let the game end at 2-0.

This match lost a little of its sting due to the goal coming so early but Villareal will have no complaints about that.  They have been very competent in their UEFA games so far and will have the knock out stages as an incentive to look forward to over the winter.  Elfsborg were never going to repeat their success of last season but they have done well this year too.  Ultimately they are just a little lacking in depth and quality to compete at this level but they can be proud of themselves again.