Sergio Conceicao, the manager of Porto, thought that his team was better than Arsenal in both matches of their Champions League last 16 tie. Champions League last 16 tie, even though they lost in the penalty shootout. London.
The Portuguese Porto won 1-0 at home and lost 1-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday, leading to the penalty shootout.
The Gunners scored all their spot-kicks and saved two of Porto’s, advancing to the last eight under the management of Mikel Arteta. David Raya Conceicao was disappointed with the result, believing his team was superior in both matches and deserved to advance to the quarter-final draw.
‘Losing access to the quarter-finals in this manner was not glorious,’ said the 49-year-old.
‘I think we were the better team in both games.
The game should have ended in a draw after 90 minutes, and although Arsenal had some scoring opportunities, they were a team with many talented players who had scored 13 goals in the last three games… but we countered that with great organization and had opportunities in the attacking third that we could have utilized better. Arsenal They knew that Arsenal would put pressure on and the result was in our favor. So, we played more directly in the first 20 minutes since Arsenal applied a lot of pressure.
David Raya was the hero for Arsenal in the penalty shootout (Picture: Getty Images)
In both matches, we were the team that should have advanced.’
Arteta complimented Porto's setup and also praised his team and particularly Raya for their performance in the penalty shootout.
‘It was exactly what we expected – a very tough opponent, well-organized and making it very hard for us to maintain momentum in the game, and that's credit to them,’ said the Spaniard.
Arteta was thrilled for Raya as Arsenal made it to the last eight (Picture: Getty Images)
‘He faced some tough moments initially, but he stood firm, displayed incredible determination and ambition, and eventually received his reward.’
Conceicao did not take the defeat lying down.
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