Simon Mignolet: “The return game will be really, really tough"
Club was able to put its foot next to that of Aston Villa tonight, but an own goal and a late spot kick made it a 1-3 win for The Villans. Despite the defeat, Simon Mignolet still has a slimmer of hope. 'I reckon we put in a good performance tonight.'
'Despite the early goal we conceded, we did well to entertain Aston Villa. The way we responded quickly with that equalizer just goes to show for what we've been doing throughout this Champions League campaign. With good football and a lot of movement, we came close to taking the lead in that first half. But we know that efficiency is key at this level. That's why it's so disappointing we conceded that unfortunate own-goal and a penalty to make it 1-3, which will make it tough on us in the return game. I honestly thought the game would end in a 1-1 draw, but Villa then brought on four good players fresh off the bench capable of making the difference. It's now up to us to try and think up a plan to at least go and score at Villa Park. We might be grabbing those moments again over there and score two.'
'There are two ways to look at this defeat. On one hand, you can see how we performed against a good block with lots of players at a high level, and we managed to pull our weight. On the other hand, we are two goals down at this point. Nevertheless, we still have to believe we can make it. It was clear that Aston Villa had taken lessons from their last visit here, playing less naive, which is testament to our performances in the CL. For many of our players it will be a new experience to go and take on Aston Villa away, but we shouldn't throw in the towel just yet.'
Ardon Jashari: "Anything can happen in football"
'This is a disappointing result after a good game from our part,' the midfielder said after the game, 'eventhough we faced a tough opponent today. Before their second goal we didn't get in too much trouble and even carved out a couple of good opportunites ourselves. That own goal and the late penalty kick decide the outcome today. Next week will be a real challenge, but we will give it our all. Obviously we need two score at least two goals, but anything can happen in football.'
Mechele: "It's always a challenge after losing the first leg"
'Watkins probably would have scored if I hadn't intervened, so I had to try. It's heartbreaking to see it ended up against the back of the net, particularly as we had been having a good game', said Mechele about his unfortunate own goal. 'It's a rough feeling, but we have to look ahead. At times we even dominated Aston Villa in the second half, but we just did not make the most of our chances. We have gotten us into a dire situation with a tough game ahead of us next week. We have brought some fine football during this campaign and shown that we can get a result, but it's always a challenge after losing the first leg. It will be very difficult, but not unfeasible."
Maxim De Cuyper: "You always have to believe"
"This is very unfortunate", De Cuyper sighed after the game. "Today we lacked the efficiency we've shown during this Champions League campaign. The devil's in the detail, and that was the difference between us and Villa today. We didn't give away too much, I think we were equally good, so that makes it hard to accept our defeat. We know that we will have to score goals to go through, but you always have to believe. What we achieved against Atalanta can inspire us for next week's clash."
Nicky Hayen: “Had the chances for the win”
Despite another great CL performance, a foul aftertaste remains for Club Brugge after the two goals late on. “We created a lot of chances, and really should have scored more”, Nicky Hayen started out.
“Unfortunately we then took that own-goal, with a penalty five minutes later. It clearly toughens our mission in the second leg. We did have the chanes to go on and win it today, however. Despite the result, we put in a great performance. And that's what we need to repeat come next week. With the same scenario we had today: score early on, so we might be able to create some doubt. And let's hope we can score three times in the first half like we did away at Atalanta. But let's first focus on our game on Sunday, as an important derby awaits against Cercle Brugge. If Brandon fails to do that tackle, their striker would have been ready to tap it in. I've been a defender myself, so I know how things go. That penalty was also very unfortunate. Tzolis' control was bad, and he wanted to make up for it, but the opponent beat him to the ball. It's unfortunate, as he definitely did not intend to bring him down. There's no turning back, however. In the end, it's all about efficiency. The same goes for our game in Ghent on Saturday, where we also had enough chances to widen the gap, but failed to capitalise on it. Today we also merited that lead, but you just have to pounce them in. Up until today we have been very clinical in the Champions League, but unfortunately that wasn't the case today.”
