Silva bemoans sloppy start at Stamford Bridge
Sporting Lisbon coach Marco Silva bemoaned his side's start after they lost 3-1 at Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EYxLRwG7eMBa95Ywa67cR6.jpg)
Sporting's defeat - coupled with Schalke's 1-0 win at Maribor, also on Wednesday - eliminated the Portuguese side from the competition.
That disappointed Silva, who clearly felt his side had done enough to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
"We did everything in all six matches to go through to the next stage," Silva said.
"We knew this was always going to be a very complicated match and there were times when we were not as aggressive as we should have been.
"We did not start the match the way we wanted and the way a match like this demands.
"We deserved to be in the next phase for all we did in this group stage, but that did not happen and now we will have to follow our path in another competition."
Sporting captain and goalkeeper Rui Patricio acknowledged he was upset with the result but that his team could be confident about a strong UEFA Europa League campaign.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Sporting drop into Europe's second-tier competition after finishing third in Group G, four points ahead of Maribor.
"We gave everything but we were not able to get the point we needed to go through to the next phase," Patricio said.
"This is football. Now we head to the Europa League to give our best.
"We go out of the Champions League with our heads held high.
"We are sad with this result but we will go to the Europa League searching for wins."
![LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 5: Arne Slot Manager of Liverpool congratulates Mohamed Salah of Liverpool after the 4-0 victory during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Anfield on November 5, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q3ie7X2vDDiU7X6C9HVRK7-840-80.jpg)
‘The pure simplicity of the way Slot has managed the squad is probably the biggest thing I could say about him. It’s not broken, so let’s get on with it’: Liverpool legend full of admiration for Jurgen Klopp's successor at Anfield
![CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 02: Wales captain Ryan Giggs shakes the hand of manager John Toshack after being substituted on his last International appearance for his country during the Euro 2008 Group D Qualifying Match between Wales and Czech Republic at the Millennium Stadium on June 2, 2007 in Cardiff, Wales. Photo by (Stu Forster/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ooQ9oNmgvfUUG8TBUhn6BK-840-80.jpg)
‘I trained at Spurs and thought they’d give me a chance. But I received a letter thanking me but saying they didn’t think I was good enough – I was gutted’: How Tottenham missed out on signing Wales legend John Toshack