Magath relieved to see Schalke forced into action

Ahead 1-0 on the night and 2-1 overall, Valencia CF succumbed 4-2 on aggregate in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against FC Schalke 04. The Liga team's coach, Unai Emery, was dejected by the manner of their exit, while his Schalke counterpart conceded that his side needed a nudge in order to come out of their shell.

Felix Magath, Schalke coach
I think at the beginning the result from the first leg was a burden for us. We were not aggressive enough, that's why Valencia could raise their game. After we conceded it got better as we had nothing to lose anymore. Then we fought back, but the situation was quite dicey and I would have liked Jefferson [Farfán] to score the [third] goal earlier.

Such games in the Champions League, when it's all or nothing, are always stressful. A 1-1 in the first leg suggests that you are in the next round with a goalless draw. It was difficult to create pressure from the beginning but after we conceded we had nothing to lose and then we had to. We had Manuel Neuer and a bit of luck, but that's what you need in order to reach the next round. The air gets thinner the higher you get, but we take it as it comes.

Unai Emery, Valencia coach
It's so disappointing. With everything in our favour we managed to throw it all away. It's incomprehensible. At 0-1 we had the game under control with chances to counterattack, and then they go and equalise. In the second half, without hardly creating a chance, they go 2-1 up. We then have four chances and don't take any of them. We've lost unjustly; we let an opportunity slip from our grasp when everything was in our favour.

I went back into the dressing room so down that I couldn't say anything to the players, but in reality I can't hold them responsible for anything. In a game where we had more chances than ever, we lost. I must also recognise the great performance their goalkeeper [Manuel Neuer] put in. We can't talk of bad luck tonight; we needed to be assertive and we weren't.