William Carvalho and João Mário at the final whistle after Thursday's loss to Leverkusen

Sporting's midfield pairing of João Mário and William Carvalho took a moment to speak with radio journalists after Thursday's 3-1 Europa League loss to Bayer Leverkusen this Thursday night.

“We were not effective enough after we scored. We had chances to get ahead, but we didn't and that cost us", explained João Mário, preferring to move his focus onto Sporting's Liga NOS campaign: "We felt like we could get past this tie, but we didn't and now we will concentrate on the league."

William Carvalho also set his sights on the domestic campaign. "All we have to do is concentrate on the league now. We have said since the start of the season that our main focus is that and now we will get ready for Monday in Guimarães", affirmed the Portuguese international, finishing with his analysis of the evening's encounter: “They (Bayer Leverkusen) were more effective than us. We had our chances, but we didn't convert on them while they did."