Neestrup: We reminded players of Manchester United at HT vs Napoli
Jacob Neestrup was all praise for his players after they battled back to secure a point in Tuesday's UEFA Champions League clash with Napoli, despite playing more than an hour with 10 men.
Jordan Larsson's penalty cancelled out Napoli's first-half opener, which had come minutes after Thomas Delaney was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle.
The Lions fought back from a goal down and defended valiantly to secure what may be a crucial point in the League Phase – a situation that Neestrup said was similar to when we were losing to Manchester United in the Champions League two seasons ago.
That day, we twice bounced back from being behind to earn a famous win in Parken.
And while FCK couldn't grab three points at the death against Napoli, Neestrup was happy with the resolve his squad showed.
"I really have to praise the players for standing together in an almost impossible situation after the red card," said Neestrup.
"The way we played in the second half, I think it was fair that we got a point, and the red card almost ended up being an advantage for us.
"Napoli were clearly the better side when we were playing 11 against 11, and with a little more quality they would have put themselves ahead (before the red).
"But with the red, it's sometimes easier because there are some things that you have to exclude, and it's simpler to relate to what you should and should not do.
"During the break we showed the players a picture from the United game here two years ago, where we were 2-0 down and they had clearly been the better side, but we still managed to turn it around because things can happen very quickly in football. Small situations can change the momentum of the game almost out of nowhere.
"Our plan for the second half was to hold out for 15 minutes and then put on some new players with less physicality but more speed, who could change the dynamic and give Napoli something different to deal with.
"I think we succeeded in that, and you could also feel that in the stands. First Mads Emil had a great chance before we got the penalty, and after that it was just a heroic fight all the way through that gave us a result that I think was completely fair after our second half.
"I'm really happy for the players, because with the spring that awaits us in the Superliga and the cup, it's also good for morale to get a result like tonight. But now we're first looking forward to the game in Barcelona on Wednesday, which we "just" have to go down and win to advance.
"The opportunity is not great, but it's there, and even though it will be very, very difficult, it's in any case a big game to face Barcelona at the Nou Camp, and we're going there to do everything we can to create, well, a miracle, you could call it."