Farioli: 'NAC did everything they could to make things difficult for us'

Although Ajax had possession about 75 percent of the time, the Amsterdam team did not set things up well enough to destroy NAC. "NAC gave it their all, and 'we paid the price'. Even though we were better than the opposition. But these fixtures can be difficult. You have eleven men in the last thirty metres on the pitch. They did everything they could to make things difficult for us. I told the players at half-time to keep calm. And don't make mistakes."

Once again the manager was asked whether he should have gone for a different opening line-up. The opening line-up featured eight different players compared to the home game against Panathinaikos. "We have to put our feelings to one side," the manager replied.