Beyond the general lack of goals, the Sporting captain highlighted a specific frustration regarding how Arsenal managed the clock during dead-ball situations. The Portuguese side believed they were the more creative force when the game was allowed to flow, but those moments were rare.
Discussing why the match failed to live up to the drama of the other quarter-final ties, Hjulmand added: “If I was a viewer from outside 0-0, also the first game 1-0 it’s not the way Sporting wants to show itself. We want to score goals, create chances and we didn’t do it today. During the game I felt a lot of stops, especially during set-pieces and it takes a lot of time out of the game. When we did get the rhythm we did create a lot of chances, especially in the first half. But at the end we didn’t create enough to win the game to be honest.”