The coach comments on the Europa League progress

Rúben Amorim talked after Sporting CP moved on to the Round of 16 of the Europa League, expressing that his team deserved to have translated their superiority against BSC Young Boys into a second victory in the playoff tie.

In the second leg Sporting CP created more than enough opportunities to win, but the opposition goalkeeper had an excellent second half, even denying Viktor Gyökeres from the penalty spot.

“I'm not worried about the players missing, because we haven't missed a lot. Sometimes it's a half, or a goal we've lacked, but there are days like that. We do have to have a feeling of frustration because we should have won this game, we should have had another victory in Europe, which I think is always important. It didn't happen, but I don't have much to reproach the players for, as there was no drop in opportunities, there was no drop in our level of performance or intensity. I really think we should have another victory in Europe. It didn't happen, but we demonstrated in both legs that we were the better side and I think that became even clearer in this second game”, the coach Leonino began by saying, stressing: “We won 2-1 against Raków, but we didn't have the feeling that we played very well in that game. This time, we played very well and created a lot of opportunities. We were superior, we went through, and the only point of frustration that exists is because we didn't win and we should have won”.

The next European opponents will be revealed this Friday in the Round of 16 draw, but Sporting CP are already looking to the domestic league and Amorim is not worried about anything else.

“I have no preference for the draw because, honestly, we are only focused on Rio Ave FC. We cannot drop points. In the Europa League you need to be lucky -and when I say lucky, it's not just in terms of the opponents, it's the games themselves, not having injuries so you can rotate and be prepared for anything. The opposition is indifferent at the moment. Of course there are teams that are more difficult to beat, but I’m only thinking about Rio Ave”.

Amorim also spoke of the support for Gyökeres, who had the Sportinguistas chant his name even louder after he missed the penalty.

“This is also an excellent sign. It’s because they like him a lot and because they see the team pushing to be superior to the opposition, and they want to give the player strength. I've already said it: You can feel the connection between the fans and the players”.