Jimenez: Attacking mentality cost us March 11 2008
Sevilla's all-action attacking style may have served them well over the last few years, but coach Manolo Jimenez believes that same mentality might also have caused their downfall against Fenerbahce.
Despite trailing 3-2 from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with the Turkish side, Rojiblancos looked to be cruising into the quarter-finals as they swept into a 2-0 lead in the return leg after just nine minutes.
However, the Andalusians chose not to shut up shop at that stage and continued to pressure their opponents, which subsequently led to opportunities for Fenerbahce.
Two of those chances were put away by Deivid - the latter with 11 minutes to go when his team were 3-1 down - which allowed the visitors to send the game to extra-time, before then going on to win the tie with a 3-2 penalty shoot-out win.
The Spaniards have established themselves as one of Europe's most exciting sides in recent times, but while their adventurous style of play may have brought them five trophies in two years, Jimenez believes it might have cost them dear on Tuesday night.
"This defeat is a very tough blow because at 2-0 up we could have killed the game off, but we have to raise our heads," he said.
"And maybe the handicap that we have is that we don't know how to slow the game down when we have the result in our favour.
"The team always wants to attack and these plays can end in counter-attacks for the opposing teams which cause us a lot of damage."
Jimenez added: "What we have to do is recognise our errors, our weak points, because football is very modernised and all our opponents know us.
"We have to know that we are lacking at the back and that we have let great things slip away from us because of this."
Goalkeeper Andres Palop was Sevilla's hero during last year's UEFA Cup final victory over Espanyol when he made three saves in the penalty shoot-out.
The veteran could not repeat the feat on Tuesday though, with his Fenerbahce opposite number Volkan Demirel proving the star with penalty stops against Julien Escude, Ivica Dragutinovic and Dani Alves.
Palop said: "It is a blow after two years where we have been used to winning, always getting to the final, but this time we could not.
"We did not want to go to penalties because it is a lottery, sometimes we have had the luck but not here.
"We are disappointed because we have had a good first phase (in the Champions League) because the teams were not so strong, it is a pity.
"(However) it is not a failure, a failure would have been if we did not get through the group stages, it is a big disappointment but not a failure."