Como head coach Cesc Fàbregas said he regrets telling his players to ease off towards the end of their famous 4-1 win against misfiring Manchester United.
The Champions League upstarts heaped pressure on Red Devils boss Michael Carrick by swatting aside the three-time European champions with ease on Wednesday evening.
Nico Paz marked a sparkling man-of-the-match display with a brace at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, where Tasos Douvikas and Jacobo Ramón also struck for the ever-improving Serie A side.
But Fàbregas’ pride in the performance was tinged by disappointment at seeing United substitute Joshua Zirkzee score a stoppage-time consolation, admitting he turned his attention to Saturday’s match against Sassuolo during the closing stages.
“I believe that tactically speaking the team played a rather good game,” the former Arsenal and Chelsea star said.
“I regret maybe the last 10 minutes when I was the one telling the team to slow down the pace because there was another game and maybe with a 4-0 lead they could have managed something.
“I told Tasos Douvikas not to run anymore, to stay in the middle and maybe that is what I regret, because I’m the first one who always pushes the fight until the end. That goal hurt me.”
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