Neestrup: We shouldn't have lost in Seville

F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup says his youthful team deserved more than the 3-0 defeat to Sevilla in Tuesday's UEFA Champions League clash.

The Lions held one of La Liga's top clubs for an hour before Youssef En-Nesyri opened the scoring. And while FCK pushed for an equaliser, late goals from Isco and Gonzalo Mantiel handed three points to the Spaniards.

"The way the match was developing, it is one we shouldn't have lost," said Neestrup.

"We were in such good control for long periods of the game so I'm disappointed we didn't get anything from here. The performance matched what was required for most of the game.

"I was a bit hard on the players at half time, because we create many good situations where we got behind them and were dangerous in their area. But we just couldn't finish it off with the last pass or finish.

"After the break we are really strong at the start. The game completely changed momentum, and during the second half we still had the ball a lot in their half. But our finishing was just too bad… it's not just bad luck that we don't score today, when we twice hit the woodwork and twice should have passed to a free man.

"After Kevin Diks' header hit the woodwork 10 minutes from time, we gambled a lot, and I take responsibility for that, and it's here that they get two goals at the very end.

"But at a difficult away ground in a very intense atmosphere, we showed that we have come a long way. We have high demands on ourselves, regardless of whether you are 16 or 30 years old.

"And yes, we fielded many young players tonight, but I trust them fully, and today we show again that you can do it well. And if we played the same match in six or 12 months with the same team, we would win it.
 
"I know that many people at home think that it's a difficult period and has been for a while, but now we just have to get through the next two and a half weeks. Then we get the opportunity to train properly, we get more players back, we get a transfer window where we can change things, and we can become really difficult to play against."