With the game finely poised at 2-1, Wilson had the ball in the net for an equaliser but referee Mike Dean ruled out the strike.

Despite that and the four goals against his side, Howe was pleased with his side's performance against the Champions League chasers.

He reflected on the following points... 

The performance 

We started strongly and it was an intense period for both sets of players. 

I thought we gave everything, the game was a very quick pace but ultimately they were too good.

For me, the scoreline didn't reflect the way that we played and we were right in it until the last ten minutes. 

On the disallowed goal 

I thought it was very very soft from the referee, there was minimal contact from my perspective. 

I haven't seen it back yet but that was my first thought. 

We were 2-1 down at the time and it had a huge bearing on the result. 

On the players 

I can't fault the endeavour of my players, the effort levels today are all you can ask.

For large parts of the first half, we gave them real problems with the physicality of the team.

Defensively, we were stretched at times and in that last ten we didn't manage well.

On the start 

We had to make sure we started well, they're one of best teams in Europe and we took them so far, so it's a compliment to the team. 

Junior Stanislas obviously missed that chance, but he backed it up so I was really pleased for him. He's a big player for us.

We expected Lys [Mousset] to tire, he's not had a great deal of football but he showed his quality today and he'll only get better.