Luciano Spalletti: Getting to the 1/8 final of the Champions League is a good achievement

Zenit St. Petersburg manager Luciano Spalleti, commenting on his side’s loss in Lisbon and failure to reach the quarterfinals, admitted that previous match against CSKA took a lot out of the team, but reaching the 1/8 final of the Champions League was a good result.

«How much did the RPL fixture against CSKA [played only three days before the European match – Sports.ru] affected your performance against Benfica?» a Russian TV reporter asked the Italian boss.

«Our primary focus should be on our team qualities, we have to use our strong points to the best effect. That’s where we need to improve. As for our physical fitness, I admit another day of preparations would not have gone amiss. In such a tight run of games it would have been helpful,» the former Roma boss said.

«I think that reaching the knock-out stage is a good level for us, it’s great that we got here.

«Is it your limit at the moment?»

«We can’t be setting limits now, we have to be looking ahead and believe that we can improve.»

Zenit’s loss to Benfica ends their best run in the Champions League in their history.