Vukčević aghast at Sporting's ignoble exit

"I'm speechless – it's a very hard night for all of us. I really don't know what to say," Simon Vukčević told uefa.com after Sporting Clube de Portugal's humiliating 7-1 defeat at FC Bayern München on Tuesday.

Unwanted record
The Portuguese club's first foray into the knockout phase ended with them making an ignoble contribution to the UEFA Champions League history books as they finished on the receiving end of a 12-1 aggregate defeat. Having already featured in the first leg, Vukčević endured all 90 minutes at the Fußball Arena München, during which Bayern registered the competition's record margin of victory over two legs, and their biggest UEFA Champions League win.

New experience
"Everything went wrong. I didn't think Bayern were that good – they were quite good, but they weren't perfect. We lost 7-1 – I really can't find the words to describe what happened," said the Montenegrin, whose evident disappointment mirrored the sentiments of the whole Sporting squad. "To win 5-0 or 6-0 would have been very difficult, but we really believed we could win here. I've never experienced anything like this, even when I was a young kid."

Missed opportunities
João Moutinho's impressive 42nd-minute strike aside, moments of relief were few and far between for Sporting in Bavaria, though Vukčević did enjoy two of his team's more memorable moments. A fiercely-driven free-kick forced debutant Hans Jörg Butt, who had a comfortable start to his Bayern career, into his first real save nine minutes before half-time, while the talented midfielder dwelled too long before shooting to allow the former Bayer 04 Leverkusen keeper to smother a second-half chance.

Harsh reality
Sporting had also failed to seize the few opportunities that came their way early in the first leg, and Vukčević is well aware of the harsh realities of football among Europe's élite. "If you don't score, you lose 7-1," said the 23-year-old, who added that Bayern taking the lead in both legs had been key to the German champions' sweeping success. "The first game we lost 5-0, but the opening 40 minutes were tough for both sides. When we conceded the first goal, everything changed. It was the same today. We started well for the first ten minutes, but conceded again."

'We'll be fine'
With his team just four points behind Portuguese league leaders FC Porto, Sporting coach Paulo Bento must be concerned what effect such a crushing defeat will have on his side's title tilt. Vukčević is confident the squad will recover quickly, starting on Saturday with their league encounter against struggling Rio Ave FC. "We need to win the game against Rio Ave," he said. "We're out of the Portuguese cup and out of the Champions League, but we've got the League Cup final against Benfica to look forward to on 21 March – I think we'll be fine."