Sporting Lisbon coach Ricardo Sa Pinto said he believes his team were deserved 1-0 winners over Manchester City in the Europa League.
A back-heeled goal from Xandao earned hosts Sporting a narrow victory in the round-of-16 first leg at Estadio Jose Alvalade.
City manager Mancini said his players created more chances than the hosts during the 90 minutes on Thursday, but Sa Pinto rejected the implication Sporting were fortunate to win.
“I do not agree with him (Mancini), but I respect him,” Sa Pinto said.
“I have huge respect for him as a coach; I already did when he was a player. (But) my opinion is different.”
“We played a perfect game. The way we positioned ourselves and the way we went out on attack was not by accident. Nothing was by chance.”
“The game went according to plan; my players were exceptional. We knew we had to be perfect to beat a great Man City, who are the best team in the Premier League.”
“We know about City’s quality and we are humble enough to acknowledge it. But we have quality, too. We deserved to win.”
Despite their one-goal advantage, Sa Pinto knows Sporting will be up against it when they visit the home of the English Premier League leaders for the second leg on Thursday.
“As I said yesterday, I believe, we believe it is possible (to go through) and we will fight until the end,” he said.
“(But) we know that this is only the first leg and that we will have a very hard game in Manchester.”
City lost captain Vincent Kompany to a calf injury seven minutes into the match, but Mancini said he is confident the key centre-back will not be sidelined for long.
“I hope that for Vinnie, the injury will be short,” he said.
“When you have a calf (injury), it can be a big problem. I hope he can recover in 10 days, two weeks maximum. We will see how it is in another one or two days.”
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SoccerNews
Soccernews.com is news blog for soccer with comprehensive coverage of all the major leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in the United States. In addition we offer breaking news for transfers and transfer rumors, ticket sales, betting tips and offers, match previews, and in-depth editorials.
You can follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/soccernews.com or Twitter: @soccernewsfeed.