Paulo Sousa thought Fiorentina “would’ve deserved victory” against Tottenham after a 1-1 draw and the tie is still wide open.
Spurs had taken the lead through a Nacer Chadli penalty, a potentially precious away goal, before Federico Bernardeschi’s deflected scorcher.
“Tottenham are an excellent side and we know that when we have certain players in specific positions, we struggle to press opponents high up the pitch,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
Paulo Sousa thought Fiorentina “would’ve deserved victory” against Tottenham after a 1-1 draw and the tie is still wide open.
Spurs had taken the lead through a Nacer Chadli penalty, a potentially precious away goal, before Federico Bernardeschi’s deflected scorcher.
“Tottenham are an excellent side and we know that when we have certain players in specific positions, we struggle to press opponents high up the pitch,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“It was a performance that got better as time went on in terms of intensity and quality. At the end we didn’t get the result we wanted, as we would’ve deserved victory.
“Fiorentina proved once again that we have the desire to compete at these levels. The English football culture is one of great intensity and I am proud my lads managed to match them in that sense.
“We’ll see in the return leg if we can make the whole city and country proud of us too. It’s important to give a certain image of our football abroad.
“I did expect Son to play as a centre-forward. Spurs rotate positions a great deal and are a very physical side. When the first moment of pressure is not done properly, it helps those who run into space.
“In the second half we kept it tighter and played by anticipating our opponents. We chose Mauro Zarate as a centre-forward initially to not give Tottenham reference points and make the most of his pace.”