France played much better than England, says Evra

Donetsk (Ukraine), June 12 (IANS)-

Patrice Evra

French defender Patrice Evra feels his team played better than England in the 1-1 draw in their Euro 2012 football opener at the Donbass Arena.

The Manchester United star said France, one of the tournament favourites, felt frustrated because they played much better than England.

“We are frustrated because I think we played much better,” Evra was quoted as saying by The Sun.

“At times it was like there were 15 bodies in front of us. It was really difficult to find space. People laugh, but they played the way that Chelsea played against Barcelona. Maybe the fans want England to play more football, but if they win the tournament like that, they will be happy,” he said.

Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri, who found the equaliser for France in the 39th minute after Joleon Lescott had put England ahead on the half-hour, revealed he was happy to deceive his City team-mate Joe Hart to score.

“When Franck Ribery gave me the ball, the England defence was really low (sitting back). I decided to take a shot, but Joe Hart knows me from Manchester City and knows that in that situation, I normally open my foot. This time I closed it a little bit, so I am happy with how it worked out,” he said.