Aragones: win tougher than scoreline suggests

SPAIN coach Luis Aragones felt his side were given a much tougher ride in their Euro 2008 opener against Russia than the final 4-1 scoreline suggested.

David Villa was the star of the show in Innsbruck, earning himself the man-of-the-match award with a hat-trick, before Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas wrapped up the scoring in injury-time after Russia had pulled a goal back through Roman Pavluchenko.

That victory gave Spain the perfect start to their bid for a first European Championship title since 1964, but Aragones knows it was not all one-way traffic.