Sevilla penalty misses decisive against Leicester, says Jorge Sampaoli

Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli rued his side's failure to convert two penalties across both legs of their Champions League last-16 defeat to Leicester.

The Foxes progressed to the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition 3-2 on aggregate, but only after Steven N'Zonzi saw his 80th-minute penalty saved by Kasper Schmeichel at the King Power Stadium.

That meant the La Liga club had missed spot kicks in both legs of the last-eight clash after Leicester's Denmark international had also kept out Joaquin Correa's penalty at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

And Sampaoli agreed when it was suggested his side had a "psychological problem" when it came to spot kicks.

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"It's been decisive that we've missed two penalties," the Argentine said. "It became a really tall order after missing the penalty.

"We never stopped trying to look for opportunities to score and to get back into the game."

There was controversy on the night as Sevilla midfielder Samir Nasri was red carded for a headbutt on Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, who reacted dramatically.

However, Sampaoli, who was sent to the stands as well at the death, said he did not know why Italian referee Daniele Orsato had decided to dismiss either Nasri or himself.

The Andalusians, meanwhile, have seen their La Liga title hopes fade after successive 1-1 draws against Alaves and Leganes and Sampaoli said fatigue may have been a factor in their Champions League exit.

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"It's hard to compete on two fronts in the league and the Champions League. That creates a certain amount of stress," he said.

"But even so, we still managed to dominate this game in terms of possession, as we did in the first leg.

"Games can turn on little things. [Sergio] Escudero went close and they went and scored the second goal, which was decisive."

Sevilla had hoped to kick on in the Champions League after three successive Europa League triumphs, although Sampaoli said he was still proud of his players' efforts.

"It's too early to talk about failure," he said. "I'm very proud of my team. Even though we played with 10 men, we never stopped trying.

"We were superior in terms of possession in both games. We tried our hearts out.

"The fault lies at the feet of the manager. I pick the side. But I'm really proud of the effort my boys put in tonight."