Nottingham Forest lost 4-0 on the night and went out 4-1 on aggregate. Pereira left nothing unsaid with TNT Sports.
"To compete in a semi-final against a team like Aston Villa, we need everyone in the conditions to compete. If you look before the game, on the bench we had three players — because the other ones were injured. The only solutions we had from the first team were Bakwa, Luca, Murillo — we tried but he was injured and not in condition — and Yates. This is very short, to come here without solutions."
He listed every significant absentee to make the full picture plain.
"Aina, out. Morgan Gibbs-White, out. Sangaré, out. Murillo, out. Callum Hudson-Odoi, out. Ndoye, out. To bring the full squad we put three injured players on the bench and brought three more from the academy. To compete in a game in these conditions, after a game against Chelsea, and play in a semi-final is not possible. This is why I said we were not able to compete."
The three-day turnaround from their Premier League fixture against Chelsea added further weight to what he described as an impossible ask.
"Playing against Chelsea and then travelling again to come here after three days — it was not possible."
On the penalty decision that gave Villa their second goal, Pereira was pointed without making it his primary focus.
"I didn't see it. But I tell you one thing — this referee was a very good referee, but not for us. A lot of fouls against us and against them they forget. He permitted a lot of aggressiveness. In the end I don't want to use an excuse."
Despite everything, he remained proud of both his players and the supporters who made the trip.
"I'm very proud of our supporters — they tried on this long road to help us. It is a pity but I am proud of my players because they tried everything. To resume — today we were not in our level to compete for the semi-final."
Forest reached a first European semi-final since 1984. Thursday showed how thin the margin is between a good story and a great one.