Neestrup: A deserved victory with lots of positives

Jacob Neestrup says his f.C. Copenhagen players and the fans inside Parken Stadium deserved the 3-2 UEFA Champions League victory over Kairat Almaty on Wednesday evening – even though not everything went to plan.

The Lions were three up with less than 10 minutes remaining thanks to goals from Viktor Dadason, Jordan Larsson and Robert.

Kairat scored twice in the dying stages to make for a nervy finale – but Neestrup was overall pleased with the evening's work.

"We won a deserved victory tonight, where we were really good for the first 82 minutes or so, until they got a goal and got the feeling that they could get something," said Neestrup at full time.

"The last ten minutes were not as we wanted, and that also means something for our goal difference in the League Phase. Of course, I saw the same as everyone else, but with the situation we have been in in recent weeks, I choose to focus on the many positive things that we can take with us to the important and difficult challenge that awaits us on Sunday against a strong AGF team, who deservedly lead the Superliga after 16 rounds."

Victory for the Lions pushes us up to 29th in the League Phase, two points off the top-24. Villarreal is up next, before games against Napoli and Barcelona in January.

Reflecting on the night, Neestrup continued: “Today we played really well and very dynamically, and at a high pace through most of the game. We created a lot of chances and a lot of dangerous situations, until the dynamics changed after their first goal. It’s a shame for our goal difference that we couldn’t win 3-0, because we also had chances for more goals than those three, but we still go to Villarreal in a couple of weeks to play our hand as much as we can, and then we have to look at what lies next from there.

“For now, we can look back at two well-deserved victories in four days, where today we also succeeded without Cornelius and Achouri, and with Elyounoussi on the bench, so we are best equipped to take the third win in a row on Sunday.

“We played a good game today and a solid game the other day, but that doesn’t mean that everything is great again, but for now it was two steps in the right direction.”

Neestrup also reflected on Dadason's performance, with the 17-year-old becoming the youngest player to ever score more than one goal in the main stage of the Champions League.

“It was a perfect performance, he didn't put a foot wrong,” said Neestrup.

“He has really taken the chance when he has got it, he has worked hard and done well in training. As I have said before, we should have brought him a little earlier, but on the other hand it is also difficult for a young player when a club like F.C. Copenhagen is in a bad period, because the pressure is great and the expectations are great. That is why we have chosen to do it this way."