All not lost for breathless Málaga
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
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"They didn't let us breathe," said Isco admiringly after his Málaga CF side lost 1-0 at FC Porto, but colleague Júlio Baptista added: "The knockout rounds aren't settled in 90 minutes."
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Down, but not out. That was the feeling among Málaga CF's players after their 1-0 first-leg defeat at FC Porto, as their debut UEFA Champions League season continued in the round of 16. Playmaker Isco remarked on the quality of the Portuguese hosts, saying "they didn't let us breathe", while the experienced Júlio Baptista demanded a big improvement from his side and maintained that "nothing is decided".
Isco, Málaga midfielder
They put incredible pressure on us for the whole 90 minutes. They didn't let us breathe. They didn't let us play our game and we didn't really have any opportunities. We've got another 90 minutes and we're going to do our best to get through to the next round. A 50% chance? No, because we lost 1-0, so Porto have a little bit more of a chance, but 90 minutes at La Rosaleda, with our people behind us, can pick us up. There's a long way to go – we have a good team and we can come back.
Júlio Baptista, Málaga midfielder
We didn't manage to play a great game in all areas of the pitch. We let Porto play and didn't manage to play ourselves. They were better than us, but the knockout rounds aren't settled in 90 minutes. Nothing is decided yet and we still have the return match. We certainly have to be a lot better than we were today.
