Nuno: ‘Espanyol tie not over’

Valencia boss Nuno Espirito Santo says the Copa del Rey tie against Espanyol is far from over after his side defeated the Catalans 2-1 at Mestalla.

A late Alvaro Negredo penalty gave Los Che a hard-earned win over Sergio Garcia’s men, Jose Gaya having put the hosts in front on 11 minutes with Cristian Stuani levelling things after an hour, and Nuno acknowledged his team still has a job to do in next week’s return leg to reach the quarter-finals.

“This tie has still not been settled but we are on the right road against a team that we knew would be difficult to beat,” he told a Press conference.

“We struggled a bit and lacked a little more organised pressure, as we had made a lot of changes, but overall I’m happy with the result, which allows us to go into the return with a good chance.

“We started well and the goal came from a very good move, although after that we dropped off somewhat and let Espanyol dominate possession.

“We didn’t move the ball around quickly enough to get forward but we are continuing to improve.”

The Portuguese was asked about the difference between Espanyol and last weekend’s opponents Real Madrid, whom they beat 2-1.

“They are different rivals and they were two different games. We won both of them and that’s the most important thing,” he asserted.

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