PSV Eindhoven Coach Phillip Cocu rued the chances missed by his side as they bowed out of the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.
The Dutch side were eventually beaten on penalties after both legs of the Round of 16 tie finished goalless, but Cocu acknowledged what an away goal would have meant for his team.
“You never know what would have happened, but it would have been a possibility,” he said, AS reports, when asked if a PSV goal would have decided the game.
“They would have had to score two. We defended well, they didn’t have many chances. We needed luck. We didn’t create many chances and needed to be successful with the ones we did. We couldn’t score.”
The former Barcelona midfielder admitted to pride in his team’s performance but acknowledged it was a difficult way to exit the tournament.
“It’s a mixed feeling. On one hand a lot of pride, for the games we’ve played against Atletico,” he confirmed.
“Especially here, on their ground, we’ve shown a lot of class, a lot of fight, and tactically we’ve been very good.
“And we were close to the quarter-finals on penalties. There’s a lot of disappointment.
“They changed their system somewhat in the second half. We had some difficulty at that stage. [Yannick Ferreira] Carrasco played more on the wing than in attack and we, with five at the back, had difficulty on the left.
“But without a lot of danger, without chances for Atletico. Then they changed the system again and we controlled the game, I think.”
Cocu explained why he took off captain and leading scorer Luuk de Jong shortly before the end of extra time, with the skipper’s replacement, Luciano Narsingh, going on to miss from 12 yards.
“It wasn’t thinking about penalties,” Cocu clarified after the suggestion de Jong’s poor record from the spot was a factor.
“De Jong had cramp in both legs. It had to be done. I had to wait until the end because Andres Guardado also had physical problems.”
