Sporting 0-2 Rangers - Match Reaction

Paulo Bento, Sporting coach:

“We began nervously but we ended the first half well. We didn’t have big problems defensively and we hit the post and had two good situations from long shots where we could have scored.

“We started the second half well, dominating and controlling the match, but we conceded the goal when we had three defenders against one attacker but made a mistake. We found it difficult to react to the goal although Yannick had a good chance that could have changed the course of the match if it had gone in.

“We ended up beaten by opponents who were more effective and who took advantage of our mistakes. Rangers are a team that concede very few goals and defend in numbers. They are an experienced side who are strong in the air and were very effective with their chances. Can they win the Uefa Cup? There are other teams with strong aspirations but from here on anything can happen.

“We feel sadness because we did not achieve our objective, and there was a certain cruelty in the way the game went, but the life of a coach is made up of good and bad moments. We have to bounce back from this disappointment in our upcoming games.”

Tonel, Sporting defender:

“We made a collective mistake on the first goal. They were always waiting for our mistake. This is what they were after and it’s what happened. They were lucky but they ended up deserving to get through.

“We risked everything and they took advantage of our mistake, which is normal given the risks we were taking. We started very nervously, but we have to give merit to our opponents.

“It’s a huge disappointment. We had a dream of reaching the final. Now we have to think about the league and the Cup. We’ve got two days to recover, which isn’t much.”

Vukcevic, Sporting forward:

“I still can’t believe we didn’t win this game because we played better and created chances. I have to say Rangers don’t deserve to get to the semi-finals after this game. They scored two goals in three shots, they were very lucky, very lucky indeed.

“That’s life. We played well and created chances but we didn’t score, which is the most important thing in football. I don’t know what was missing. We failed to score the all important goal.”


Sporting 0-2 Rangers - Match Report