[D-Kin]

Livorno Coach Daniele Arrigoni was disappointed after the 2-1 home defeat to Espanyol in the UEFA Cup tie. “We played well until their first goal,” he said.

The Amaranto were forced to play the first leg of the third round clash in an empty Armando Picchi, seeing as the arena did not pass the new safety regulations.

“We did well until they scored their first goal, then we were too naïve,” explained Arrigoni.

“It was a bit like the match against Rangers, we managed to play well until we conceded a goal, then something changed. Espanyol did well, but we created several scoring opportunities in the first half as well,” continued the Coach.

“I am a bit worried, lately we are making several mistakes that could be avoided. Did the empty stands make the difference? I don’t know if the final result would have been different, but I am sure that they missed the spectators too.

“However, you must never underestimate the strength of your opponents,” concluded Arrigoni.

Coach Ernesto Valverde was pleased with his side’s performance, although he is aware that Fabio Galante’s late goal keeps Livorno’s hopes of progressing to the next round still alive.

“We obtained a good result, but I am sorry that we weren’t able to increase our lead and end the tie,” said the tactician.

“Scoring two goals away from home is always great and we are in charge now, but we have not won anything yet. We must not be over-confident and we have to go into the second leg looking to win,” he continued.

“The empty stands were a bit surprising at first, but after five minutes we focused only on the match. We did not allow ourselves to be affected by this fact, we knew that everyone was supporting us back home.”

The second leg will be played on 22 February and the aggregate winners will face either CSKA Moscow or Maccabi Haifa in the Round of 16, with the first leg scheduled on March 8.

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