Julian Schuster encourages his Freiburg players to focus on positives despite defeat

Youri Tielemans and ‌Emiliano Buendia struck late in the ‌first half as Villa took control at Besiktas Stadium, with Morgan Rogers adding a ‌third after the break to ⁠seal a ‌comfortable victory.

“Right now, there is no happiness. ​We lost a final. That hurts,” Schuster told reporters. “I said before ​the game we believed we could win. For 40 minutes we did ⁠well, and then ​it changed.”

Schuster said a well-worked Villa set-piece and a defensive error proved decisive before halftime.

“For the first goal, Villa ‌executed the set-piece well; for the second it was our mistake,” he added.

“At 2-0 down at the break, you see the real character of a team, and the boys did well.”

Despite the defeat, Schuster said Freiburg - who had never previously gone beyond the ‌last 16 in Europe - would, in ​time, reflect positively on their campaign.

“It ‌didn’t go our way in the end. In a few days we will appreciate what we achieved with our fans, but it is ⁠painful right now,” ⁠he said.