Unai Emery insists Sevilla “will continue with our motto of challenging and dreaming” after Thursday’s 2-2 Europa League draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Goals from Vitolo and Kevin Gameiro earned Sevilla two precious away goals in their semi-final first leg, although their performance was marred by a serious injury to Michael Krohn-Dehli, and Emery felt his side showed their willingness to “suffer” for a third straight title.
“The two teams showed they deserved be in the semis,” he said after the game.
“The return leg will be the continuation of this match, which was difficult.
“We’ve suffered in Valencia and St Petersburg and now the first leg in Lviv, but it’s normal because winning a Europa League semi-final without suffering is difficult.
“Our opponents conditioned us when they went forward and demanded a lot of us defensively, but when we had the ball, we had chances and felt comfortable.
“There were moments of attacking and defending over the 90 minutes, as reflected in the result.
“The game was difficult, and both teams will try to do their best to move forward in the second leg.
“I wasn’t surprised by what happened in the first half or second.
“They’ll play similarly in Seville because when they attack, they do so strongly and then defend well.
“It’s been a season with many difficulties, and one of them is our form away from home.
“We’re finding it hard to win [away], but the team are still feeling good and we’ll continue with our motto of challenging and dreaming.
“The game wasn’t easy for [Yevhen Konoplyanka], but he’ll surely continue showing his qualities to grow and help the team because he’s a great player.”
