MC Alger midfielder Mohamed Zougrana has made a daring statement following his team's disheartening loss to Orlando Pirates in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarterfinal.
The People's Club suffered a significant defeat in front of their fans, succumbing to a 1-0 loss to the Buccaneers at the Stade du 5 Juillet Stadium on Tuesday night in Algeria.
Alger controlled the majority of the match and created several notable opportunities, but they were unable to find the back of the net as Sipho Chaine and his defence stood firm.
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Pirates young talent Mohau Nkota came on as a substitute to net the decisive goal in the 65th minute, securing a crucial away victory for the South African giants.
Now, Zougrana has lamented the squandered opportunities by his team, asserting that the outcome against Pirates does not reflect the true nature of the game.
"I think that overall, we had a good match," Zougrana said according to Pan Africa Football.
"It's just that we missed scoring goals. Otherwise, we were better. It was a very good match.
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"We tried to put into practice what the coach wanted us to do. That was to put a lot of pressure. Nonetheless, we didn't arrive for the most important occasion."They had only one occasion and they put it in the net. That is football unfortunately."
The Burkina Faso international will be hoping to see his team overturn the aggregate score when Alger takes on the Sea Robbers at the Orlando Stadium next week on Wednesday for the return leg.