Quique Sánchez Flores didn’t want to discuss the sending off of Perea, stating that “it’s not the day to speak about that. We played well, dynamic, in the first half. Anything could have happened. We recovered from the first blow, the penalty. We also recovered from the second blow, their goal, but on the third blow, their second goal, we fell apart. It knocked us out.”

The manager continued to analyse the clash and assured that “we drew up a script, but the circumstances of the play brought us to another stage. The same thing has been happening to us in recent games. These are mental impacts that are tough to overcome.

“I’m not ruling out Champions. I’ve been in football for a long time and have seen everything. Last year we were in the relegation zone for a long time and look at what we achieved. It’s difficult, but what we did last season seemed impossible to me. Given what we’ve gone through, I think that we can do it. I’m not concerned about the schedule of the upcoming fixtures,” emphasized the head coach.

Regarding the forthcoming matches in the weeks to come, Quique opined that “it won’t be the first time that a team in a difficult situation reacts against the most adverse circumstances. We don’t like facing them in this manner, but it’s what we have to do. We have to row against the difficulties.”

The manager also spoke about the current state of his team. “We’re seventh. We should be third or fourth, but we’ll see what happens. We have to be courageous and committed to move forward. We know that very tough times are awaiting us, but now is when you have to be men to move ahead.

“I have confidence in my players. They’re the same as last year, when they came out of an even more complicated spot. Our obligation is to work hard starting tomorrow to regain our confidence. That’s all we can do, and we’re going to do it with a full effort,” Quique Sánchez Flores concluded.