Alvaro Negredo Admits Sevilla Were Outfoxed By CSKA Moscow
The Andalusian's European dream is over for another season...
By Paul Madden
With the game tied at 1-1 from the first leg, Tomas Necid fired the visitors into the lead seven minutes before the interval at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan only for Diego Perotti to respond instantly for the hosts.
The Andalusian's dream of European glory came undone ten minutes after the break when Keisuke Honda's free kick was fumbled into the net by Andres Palop, leaving Sevilla needing two goals to progress.
"They went ahead, then we recovered and got the equaliser, but in second half an unfortunate goal cost us the game. But anyway, the desire we showed on the pitch must be a positive point because it has been a very tough game. They have played their cards right and they did well," Negredo said according to Goal.com Spain.
"After their second goal, we tried to come back but it was not possible. They have settled very well in defence and they had more chances than us."
Negredo also praised the fans and expressed his regret, stating they did not deserve to lose out.
"The fans? They have been great as usual. Any time they come here they respond to us and I admit it's a shame, especially for them, because they don't deserve this," he noted.
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Hosted by Stephen Crawford & Adam Scime
We've had two tremendous matches today, so lets hope the intensity keeps up in the next clashes!
Until next time, this is LIVE commentator Stephen Crawford signing off.
From everyone here at Goal.com, thanks for joining us!
Here's the thoughts of Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who felt his side deserved a point from the game.
"They were the better team on the night and that's the story of the day.
"We have to keep fighting, pick ourselves up, get the confidence back and challenge in the other competitions and in the second leg of this tie too.
"They punished us on every occasion; they scored some quality goals and they deserved to win."
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“The score made it look like it was an easy game, but it certainly wasn't.
(Strange... it looked pretty easy from where I was sitting, but hey.)
“I do not think it's over yet. I remember a clash between Milan and Deportivo la Coruna when Milan was also ahead by four goals, and in the end Deportivo eliminated Milan.
“I went into the Arsenal dressing room after the match to speak to Robin van Persie. I had agreed with him to swap shirts – my sons are big fans of his and he brought two for them. They will be delighted.
Van Bommel went on to talk about a possible move to PSV in the future, but was quick to point out his terms for the move.
“I've spoken with PSV, but we don't have an agreement yet. The club has to decide what they want.
“If Louis van Gaal turns out to be the new coach, I won't go.”
"Tonight everything went in the right direction and we did a very good match. You don't start a match thinking to win 4-0, but at the end i think we deserved it coz we played very well."
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