​The coach reflects on victory in the Europa League

At the end of the game between FC Midtjylland and Sporting CP, which ended with victory and qualification for the Round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League, coach Rúben Amorim, gave a press conference to analyse the win.

"Above all, scoring first always helps. Even so, I'm sure we played better tonight. I think we even started better at Alvalade, but this time we didn't lose balls in the buildup and managed to score off a corner. Nevertheless, we had an opportunity from Marcus [Edwards] where we could have done better," he began by saying.

"We defended the corners well, but on the second balls we could have been more aggressive. It seems to me that we played a game where we controlled the opposition, but I think the details of the game were always a little bit in our favour. Those details made all the difference."

The coach praised his team's attitude and congratulated them for their efforts, saying "In a difficult week with a trip to Chaves, less time to prepare this game and in a tough time, we came through. We deserved it, we scored four goals, even with misfortune for the opposition. The players interpreted what was happening well and really wanted to win, and were very rigorous."

On an individual level, Amorim spoke of the decisive performance of Pedro Gonçalves, who scored a brace.

"He gives performance and has goals in him, but he has to continue working. He still has a lot of room to grow. I don't look too much at his position, because the first goal he scored was off a second ball and he could have been in midfield then, and the other hit an opposition defender."

"We really needed Coates," he commented about his captain, who was also on the scoresheet.

"He's gone through difficult times, and he's an extension of the coach on the field, but I think he can take the next step as well. As a player I think he's much better with the ball, he plays a lot higher, and I think it can be even more aggressive, in a good way."

Afterwards, when asked about the team's ambitions in the UEFA Europa League, he responded by stating "We are a big club, but you have to be aware of the difference right now between the teams that are in the competition. We are talking about teams like Arsenal and Manchester United. Our priority is the league and, then, when the time comes, we want to win every game -regardless of the opponents."

"Running away is sometimes much easier. We are not candidates for the UEFA Europa League, but we are candidates to win every game."

Up next is a Liga Portugal game on Monday, of which he explained that the key will be "maintaining our stability and interpreting GD Estoril Praia's game with the same maturity as today. I think the big difference is imagining what our next home game would have been like, if we hadn't gone through, and how it will be now. In this regard, I think the win can help a lot in the next game. The important thing is that we never lower our heads. Whatever happens, we must always fight. together, because things change from one moment to the next."