Vitor Pereyra: Losses in the game against Aston Villa affected our defeat

Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereyra has linked the defeat to Aston Villa in the Europa League semi-final to significant losses in the squad. Sport24.az reports that the Portuguese specialist emphasized at the post-match press conference that the abundance of injured players directly affected the outcome of the game.

Pereyra, touching upon the absence of key player Morgan Gibbs-White and other problems, said:

"If you look at our bench today, we had only three players ready to play. Lorenzo Lucca, Dilan Bakwa, and Ryan Yates. The other three players were injured and not in a condition to help the team. We invited three players from the academy. Murillo, although not fully ready, took a risk and came onto the field."

The coach, while satisfied with his team's fight, noted that physical fatigue made a difference:

"I am proud of my players and our fans. But today we were not in a condition to compete for the final. We had one day less than the opponent for recovery, and this makes a big difference. We tried everything, but we couldn't find the right solutions. When we tried to take risks, we conceded two more goals."

Despite the heavy defeat, Pereyra emphasized the importance of recovering quickly:

"It's a sad and difficult day, but we have to look to the future. In three days, we will face another strong opponent again. I hope there will be no new injuries. It is important that all players are ready to compete at this level. Today we needed a full squad to compete against an opponent like Aston Villa."