Real Betis striker Ayoze Perez says their Europa League defeat at Manchester United is "tough to explain".

Perez scored in the 4-1 round of 16 first-leg loss.

He later said, "This is tough to explain - particularly after the first half we produced against a top side like United.

"We needed to want the ball more, to keep it better because, with that, you have United in their own half and you can tighten the screw.

"Their goal to make it 2-1 was very good but all the others were avoidable, from our point of view.

"We came here with the idea of winning firmly in our heads. In the first half, we coped with their early pressure before equalising and then creating other chances to score.

"It's very frustrating. We knew that United's first 15 minutes of each half would be intense – but we didn't cope with the second one.

"United's second goal probably took the wind out of our sails a little and we didn't react well enough. It doesn't leave us with a good feeling. However, at home, in front of our great fans, absolutely anything can happen."