‘Sevilla will never stop dreaming’

Unai Emery lavished praise on Sevilla for prolonging their Europa League dream after their elimination of Borussia Monchengladbach on Thursday.

Carlos Bacca netted a vital away goal for the Andalucians early on, before a pair of strikes from Vitolo either side of half-time cancelled out subsequent equalisers from Granit Xhaka and Thorgan Hazard to put his side in the draw for the last 16.

“We beat a great opponent and there’s no better way to grow as a team [than winning matches],” the Coach said after the game.

“Monchengladbach are a team, who demand much you and put you on edge.

“Our collective work was of a very demanding nature and we were able to play to our strengths, especially on the counterattack.

“We overcame a difficult game. We knew the counter was one of our weapons, and we won a tie, which could have been played later [in the tournament].

“This indicates how much the Europa League has grown. It’s a major competition, which is played a high level, and we’re always charged up for it.

“Gladbach demanded the win and demonstrated to Sevilla that they know how to compete.

“Our dream [of retaining the Europa League] remains intact. [The win] is a major boost for us. Gladbach have great fans but also great merit [to have made it this far].

“We must be focused and enjoy each match. Passing this difficult tie gives us satisfaction, but a contained [satisfaction] because we must improve in defence and lower the average number of goals we concede.

“This victory must equip us with the credibility, which we played with [against Gladbach] and must be shown again on Sunday against Atletico Madrid.

“Like after we lost in San Sebastian [last weekend], I still believed in the team and had confidence in their ability. I still do, but now we must play with the same [credibility] and consistency.

“Two great teams played against each other, at a very high level, and the team rose [to the challenge].

“We’re not thinking about who we’re going to get [in the last-16 draw], but we’ll enjoy the tie like we did [on Thursday]. The excitement of playing in Europe will always remain.”

Tags Borussia Monchengladbach Unai Emery
La Liga - Club News