Unai Emery highlighted Sevilla’s ‘mental toughness’ as a key reason for their Europa League progression into the quarter-finals at the expense of Villarreal.
Late strikes from Vicente Iborra and Denis Suarez at the Sanchez Pizjuan on Thursday clinched the competition holders’ place in the last eight, and the Coach paid tribute to his side’s collective strength after the match.
“We deserved to reach the quarter-finals because we eliminated one of our rivals [for the trophy],” he told reporters.
“We have an exciting month in this tournament coming up, plus we’re also competing well in the League.
“This team are flowing with maturity. We grew as a team last year, and although a few pillars of that team left [last summer], the existing players have helped the new arrivals to compete in [their predecessors’] manner, especially against strong opponents in Europe, as was the case against Borussia Monchengladbach and now Villarreal.
“We’ve managed to stop our opponents displaying their strength against us [up until now]. The team’s mental toughness means they know how to suffer and find those [match-winning] moments.
“The more dreams we have, the better. Now we have an exciting month in the Europa League coming up, but we know that the League is the main competition, which allows us to experience these precious moments in Europe.
“[It’s not the time to express preferences about our next opponents because] we’re enjoying our moment without thinking beyond it.
“The draw will be very good, but so far we’ve been paired with two very difficult teams and have overcome them. Now we await our next [opponents], that’s our approach.
“We won’t reach the final [if we look too far ahead]. I’m just thinking about the next round and continuing this dream [for as long as possible].
“The fans are happy with our work, not mine but that of the entire collective.”
