Sydney FC boss Graham Arnold admitted his side were well below their best in Wednesday night’s AFC Champions League opener against Suwon Bluewings.
The Sky Blues were punished for a sluggish performance at Sydney Football Stadium with Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanović netting a second-half brace for the visitors.
Arnold conceded Suwon were the better side on the night but was disappointed with his side’s below-par performance.
“It probably wasn’t our greatest performance. At the end of the day we’ll learn from it,” Arnold told Fox Sports.
“It’s obviously a step up in class and step up in quality but we’ll learn from this and I’m sure we’ll come back strong.”
While admitting he was surprised by Suwon’s tactical set-up, Arnold felt the Sky Blues failed to adjust to the Korean opposition’s game plan.
“It could be a good wake-up call for everybody I think. Players, staff, everyone, Arnold said.
“We’ll have a good look at the game again. They changed things from what they were playing before, played with a back five.
“They closed down the space but we need to be better than that.
“…It’s a great lesson for everyone. For some of the younger boys who haven’t played Champions League before, it’s a great wake-up call.”
Sydney have the weekend off in the A-League before flying to China to tackle Shanghai Shenhua in their second ACL group game on Wednesday night.
“It’s over. We’ve got to move on. We’ve got seven days to get ready for Shanghai Shenhua and that’s all our focus is. We move forward,” Arnold said.
#ACL2018 Group H standings after the first round of matches! pic.twitter.com/7v3lwBgwZP
— #ACLElite & #ACLTwo (@TheAFCCL) February 14, 2018
