Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini was happy with the away goal that Diego Forlan scored against Inter Milan in the first-leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.

Despite the 2-1 defeat, Pellegrini believes Forlan's goal after 45 seconds will prove pivotal in the outcome of the second game in Spain.

"It was important to get an early goal and it was also an away goal which counts for double and could be very important for the second-leg," Pellegrini told reporters after the game.

"It was a good result but it is still a dangerous one. I don't like losing any game but there are still 90 minutes of this tie remaining," he added.

Goals from Adriano and Obafemi Martins handed Inter the win but the Villarreal coach insists his players were able to match their Italian opponents.

"It was an even game and we coped well with Inter especially if you remember that we had some key players missing and had some just coming back from injury," said Pellegrini.

"We scored, we hit the bar, we conceded a goal that was a little questionable and we might have had a penalty," he added.

The Champions League debutants will have to improve on the score when they host Inter in the Estadio El Madrigal on April 4th.

"It was a good result but it is still a dangerous one. I don't like losing any game but there are still 90 minutes of this tie remaining," said the Villarreal manager.