Marcelino: "In no way does this defeat mean that we have given up on the idea of going through to the final"

Marcelino García Toral was in defiant mood after his side's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League semifinal first leg, and felt that the scoreline did not reflect Valencia CF's performance at the Emirates Stadium. The coach gave his thoughts in his post-match press conference, in which he expressed his belief that Valencia CF can still go through to the final in Baku with a good showing at Mestalla.

The result
"We're sorry that we didn't get a better result, and I think that it was excessive. They scored twice from their first two chances. It was a pity about the third goal, which we weren't expecting, because the game was under control. In no way does this defeat mean that we have given up on the idea of going through to the final. Of course I believe that we can fight back at Mestalla."

An even game
"We made two individual mistakes when we had an extra man to defend crosses from the wings. It was a pity that they took advantage then. We adapted well to the formation, but we were playing against two very good strikers who can capitalise on the smallest detail. The game was evenly matched, with us dominating at certain times, but Arsenal were very effective. We had chances to make it 2-2. This only helps us to believe in ourselves and to beat Arsenal with the support of our fans at home."

Arsenal's effectiveness
"We started out leading 0-1, and we had a good result when it was 2-1. That was until the 90th minute, when the goal to make it 3-1 arrived off an individual move. We maybe lacked experience in these types of games. I hope that we play many more of them. I didn't see any problems from on the bench; we got things right in every area of the pitch, but they were very effective. Details and finishing determined the result, which was one that not even Arsenal expected in the 90th minute. We didn't deserve this result. I think that we will also be able to score a 90th minute goal next Thursday to get into the final."

The importance of Mestalla next week
"We're into the Europa League semifinals, and not many teams can aspire to winning a trophy. You know the level of teams you will face at this stage of the season, and it's high. In seven days time we will work convinced that we can reach the Europa League final. I don't think that any Valencianista, despite the defeat, thinks that Arsenal rolled over us tonight. We have excitement and optimism. We know that it is hard to win 2-0, but why can't we get a similar result if Arsenal beat us 3-1 here? I'm sure that the fans will get behind us and that we will be able to do it."