CUPER: GAME IS STILL ALIVE

HECTOR CUPER, the Valencian coach, was upset with the 2-1 loss to Arsenal at Highbury in their Champions League quarter final, first leg but stated that Roberto Ayala's goal has kept the tie alive.

Ayala put the visitors ahead but goals by Thierry Henry and Ray Parlour turned the game on its head and gave The Gunners a vital lead for the second leg.

Cuper said: "A defeat can not never be a good result. A defeat always hurts, but it's true that the game is open."

Cuper expressed his disappointment in his side's performance for the first fifteen minutes of the second half and also stated that Valencia played very well in the first period.

The Argentinian boss said his team absorbed a lot of pressure and that was why Arsenal scored the two goals.

Cuper said that his team took a turn for the worse after the interval but they knew to battle on and to attempt to keep Arsenal to just two goals.

Speaking about Pablo Aimar, who played disappointinglyhe commented: "He is out of form after his injury. It is because of that that I replaced him in the second half."