Valencia coach Albert Celades insists the 4-1 scoreline suffered at Atalanta did not reflect his team's performance.

La Dea jumped to a 4-0 lead at San Siro last night with a Hans Hateboer brace, Josip Ilicic and Remo Freuler the goalscorers. But Valencia substitute Denis Cheryshev gave them some hope for the second leg of this Champions League Round of 16 with a late goal.

“This result certainly complicates matters, 4-1 is quite a crushing scoreline and ultimately doesn't really reflect what we saw on the pitch," said the coach in his press conference.

“I think the difference was that Atalanta scored practically every chance they had, which is not an easy thing to do. We didn't score when we had the opportunities.

“We tried to adapt to the situation, we struggled at some moments, especially on the counter-attack, and didn't get enough shots away from the edge of the area.

“Of course, we made mistakes. When you play at this level against a side like Atalanta, you cannot allow them all that space. We did create our opportunities, though, and that is important for the second leg.

“I think we've got a chance of turning it around. The result is pretty clear tonight, but we'll see what happens at the Mestalla. We play well in our own stadium. We concede too many, especially away from home, there's no denying that.

“It won't be easy to overturn this situation, but we will try."