"We didn't play a particularly good match and made too many mistakes—especially in the second half—and they punished us for those errors," says AGF coach Jakob Poulsen, according to the club's website.
All four of Sabah's goals were scored in the second half, during which AGF collapsed towards the end of the match.
"We actually had chances to score in the first half but didn't manage to convert them; then, in the second half, it seemed like we made too many mistakes, and at times the defense was wide open", says Jakob Poulsen.
"And that wasn't good enough, because at 2–0 down, we still had a chance to fight back. But we were a bit too rushed, which was a shame on a day like today."
It seemed as though AGF never quite found their footing on the pitch out east. Captain Kristian Arnstad shared this view when describing his experience of the match.
"We didn't look like ourselves and made far too many errors and turnovers. Things became too frantic, we lacked composure, and it wasn't good enough."
"We can do much better and need to go home and take a critical look at the performance. It is very disappointing to be out of the Champions League now, but we simply weren't good enough," says the Norwegian creative midfielder.
With this defeat, AGF moves to the Europa League play-off round. They will likely face Benfica, who are set to play the return leg against Hearts in Scotland on Thursday.
The Portuguese side carries a comfortable 6–1 lead into the match in Scotland.