Sporting boss rues Champions League exit, admits they didn't play well | OneFootball

The Sporting women's football team lost this Thursday, September 18, at home to Roma (2-0), in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League, thus failing to qualify for the regular phase of the competition. Micael Sequeira lamented the defeat.

"It was a very strong Roma team, we did well in the first leg, but today we did not put on a good performance. We didn’t settle into our game or keep possession, and we were always very far from the goal. Then we ended up being a bit unlucky by conceding a goal 10 seconds before halftime, and emotionally the team really felt that moment," he began by saying.

The coach explained what he asked for in the locker room: "At halftime, we asked them to be themselves and we were already able to get closer to what we train for. We faced a team that was playing its sixth official match, and for us, it was only our second."

Micael Sequeira said there is a big gap between the two teams: "There is a very big difference and I think that forced us to increase our pace and intensity, something that caused us a lot of difficulties. Roma is a very strong team and is already used to this level," he emphasized, in statements given to Canal 11.

The green and whites had the chance to return to international competition for the first time since 2018/19, back then under the management of Nuno Cristóvão, but will now play in the Europa Cup. Sporting’s next match is scheduled for Monday, September 22, against Damaiense, at 4:00 pm, at the Estádio do Algarve.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.