Next year I'm aiming for the final eight of the Champions League – Cherchesov
"We should be proud of the achievement we have made with the team. Today was our 16th game, it's a very long journey. We have brought Hungarian football to Europe, which is very good. Our fans have also shown that they are the best in Europe, and these are the most important things," Ferencváros head coach Stanislav Cherchesov began his assessment after the Champions League match against Leverkusen.
The coach stressed that Thursday's match was a completely different game to the one in Germany. What made a big difference was that he was unable to make any tactical changes during the match due to the many absentees.
"If we look at the first game, the opponent had no goal-scoring opportunities, yet we conceded two goals. Today was different, though we had our opportunities today as well, we couldn't use them. We were missing six players and that affected us a lot, but we were happy that young players were sent onto the pitch. I told the youngsters not to forget who the man was who made them play. We have to learn from these games, analyze them and move on," said Cherchesov, who also spoke about his plans for next season.
"My goal is to reach the round of 16 in the Champions League next season. I congratulate the players; we have to concentrate on the Hungarian league from now on."
EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 16, REMATCH
Ferencváros–Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 0–2 (0–1)
Budapest, Puskás Aréna, 50 675 spectators. Referee: Artur Dias (Portugal)
FTC: Dibusz – Wingo (Marquinhos, 14.; ifj. Lisztes 90+1.), Abena, Knoester, Civic – Esiti, Vécsei – Adama Traoré, Gojak (Manner, 78.), Zachariassen – R. Mmaee (Frederiksen, 90+1.).
Head coach: Stanislav Cherchesov
LEVERKUSEN: Hrádecky – Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapié (Kossounou, 82.) – Frimpong (Fosu-Mensah, 82.), Ex. Palacios, Andrich (Demirbay, 86.), Bakker – M. Diaby, Azmun (Hlozek, 71.), Wirtz (A. Adli, 71.).
Head coach: Xabi Alonso
Goal scorers: M. Diaby (3.), A. Adli (81.)
Advanced: Bayer Leverkusen, with a 4–0 double win
