Unai Emery insists Sevilla are ready to defend their Europa League crown after confirmation of progress into the knockout stages. "We're not afraid of our rivals."
Despite beating Rijeka 1-0 on Thursday the Andalucians were forced to settle for second place in Group G following Feyenoord's win against Standard Liege, but the Coach was not too despondent with the outcome as he looked ahead to the competition's last 32.
"We're satisfied with our efforts. We also suffered last year and the group was a little easier last time out," he told reporters after the match.
"We needed to finish top, although the circumstances meant Feyenoord did so by beating Standard Liege, who had nothing to play for, but that's football.
"We're happy and excited. Last year everything came together, this year it's the same. We'll continue being humble and bring happiness to our fans.
"The reality is that we're happy to be in the draw on Monday. No matter who the opponents are, we'll respect them as they respect us.
"This competition has grown significantly, and teams increasingly want to win it. We're not afraid of our rivals and excited.
"We suffered at Vallecas, but it's normal. I don't know any team who have gone there and not suffered.
"To see games out, we must take into account our rivals' attacking threats. We had a good first half but lacked the ruthlessness to take our chances.
"Although in the second half we weren't able to score, we still had chances. I honestly think the team are giving a good account of themselves.
"In the second half, Rijeka became more attacking. Perseverance and confidence is also important.
"We can consolidate our position in the League on Sunday [against Eibar], but we must concentrate on our work until the end of the year and be very happy with what we've achieved.
"We found form with two 5-1 wins at home to Granada and Sabadell. Given Granada and Rayo's quality, we also played two very good games against them."
