Unai Emery has conceded that Sevilla were deservedly knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Espanyol on Thursday.
Los Periquitos progressed to the semi-finals of the cup competition after a 3-2 aggregate triumph over the Andalucians, despite a 1-0 defeat in the second leg, and the Coach took full responsibility for their ‘first big disappointment of the season’.
“Espanyol were worthy winners on aggregate because the reality is that they were better. I take responsibility for our first big disappointment of the season,” he said after the game.
“I thank the fans for their support until the end of the match, although we couldn’t give them a semi-final.
“I failed to acknowledge the best decisions needed for us to progress. We were punished in the first leg and again [in the second] against good opponents, who defended very well.
“We’re feeling low, especially because [the elimination happened] in front of our fans, but we must lift our heads and recover our mood quickly.
“We must recover in time for La Liga the Europa League and continue working on ensuring that we’ll have a good season. We must be self-critical.
“People thought we were favourites, but the reality turned its back on us and Espanyol demonstrated on the pitch that they were better than us.
"At no time did we underestimate the Espanyol. Overall, we’ve been worse than our opponents, but we still have exciting challenges [awaiting us] until the end of season.”
