Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino has recognised that Roberto Soldado's missed chance was a vital moment in the club's 3-1 aggregate defeat to Fiorentina in the Europa League.
With the tie perfectly balanced at 1-1 after the first leg, Soldado squandered an easy chance to square for Nacer Chadli in Florence, before the home side went on to grab two goals in the second half to secure progress into the last 16.
"We are all disappointed, the player, too. It is normal. This one was the first final for us and all players are disappointed, but now we need to look forwards, to recover quickly, because on Sunday we have another game. It is impossible to change the game now," said Pochettino, according to FIFA's official website.
"It is true that it was key, this action. You need some luck to score sometimes if you are to win the games. It is true that the second half we made some mistakes and we take a risk and Fiorentina scored.
"We did not score and, if we want to analyse the game, it is easy - Fiorentina scored, we didn't score and in football you don't score it is difficult to win games."
Spurs return to Premier League action this weekend when they travel to face Queens Park Rangers.
Christopher Dodd
