play down

Amorim is acutely aware of this which is why he is playing down the expectations that rose so dramatically in the wake of Sporting’s defeat of Manchester City last week.

Wille plays down the impact of her speech all those years ago, saying it was "just a little step along the way" to progressing women's football.

But he played down the idea of an organised supply chain, insisting the smuggling system was more like a haphazard series of stepping stones, with each stage controlled by separate gangs.

In times when their games got a little bit ropey they stepped up, whether it be with a big tackle or calming the play down and winning fouls.

Official Iranian sources have publicly played down the impact of the attack, saying most missiles were intercepted and those that weren't caused only limited damage to air defence systems.