Friday 27 February 2015 07:00, UK
Roberto Martinez admitted his surprise at Everton being the last British club left in this season’s Europa League but is satisfied with the achievement.
Everton eased into tomorrow’s draw for the last 16 with a 7-2 aggregate victory over Young Boys, while Liverpool, Tottenham and Celtic all crashed out.
A Romelu Lukaku double and a Kevin Mirallas strike cancelled out Sekou Sanogo’s early opener for the visitors and Martinez was delighted with the way his side came through the tie.
“We made it an open game,” Martinez said in his post-match press conference.
“I was very satisfied after the first 10-15 minutes with the manner we settled into the game.
“We scored three goals and created a huge amount of good opportunities. All in all to be at this stage of the competition after seven goals over the two games is a phenomenal balance for us.
“Being the last British team in the Europa League is a very satisfying achievement and we are very pleased with the manner in which we played both games against a really admirable football team.”
When asked if he was surprised to be left flying the flag for Britain, he added: “I am surprised because with the quality that we have in our league, you feel we can compete in European leagues.
“Obviously in the Europa League with the quality of Spurs, Liverpool and even Celtic after the draw against Inter Milan, you just feel you can have a big impact in this competition
“But as it is it shows you that it’s not easy to play in Europe. It’s not easy to have to adapt and play away from home, adapt to different styles and ways of playing the game.
“I was very pleased with the way we adapted and the way our players showed an incredible tactical awareness to play in the manner that we did.”
