Blue-Black books a convincing 3-0 win against Marseille to qualify for the Knockout Phase Play-Offs. Read all reactions here!
Joaquin Seys: "One of my best games"
"I know Greenwood has a lot of qualities," Joaquin Seys spoke afterwards. "But I think tonight I played my best Champions League game of the season. Regardless, it's great that we were able to keep the zero in such a capital game after yet some difficult games. We have been working hard for a few weeks now to get our defensive compartment up to scratch and the fact that we managed to keep the score zero just tonight does us a lot of good. And now that we have qualified for this 3-0 victory ... the evening can't go wrong. Who we will come up against in the jump-off matches does not really matter to me, those are worries for later.
Hans Vanaken: "This qualification is a very nice achievement.
"Being able to qualify like this against an opponent who should not be underestimated obviously feels good," were the first words of our team captain Hans Vanaken. "After the 2-0 score at halftime, you naturally have a lot of confidence to start the second half. E can let the opponent come on a bit, but then you get more space yourself in the transition and then we can make grateful use of it with our fast guys. Actually, we should have scored the 3-0 earlier, but it came a good ten minutes before the whistle and then we knew the score was ours. As for myself, I was actually surprised that I was given so much space, but of course you don't hear me complaining, because then Alexandar and myself could look out for who we could put the ball to in front and I think that per moments we did that very well tonight. Finally, I think this qualification is a very nice achievement and especially then when you can achieve that at home on the last match day in an all-or-nothing game that is all the nicer. Also I actually have no preference who our next opponent will be, the most important thing is that we reached that intermediate round and just like last season we have nothing to lose again."
Simon Mignolet: " The intention is that I will stay in goal from now on"
"Obviously I am super happy with the qualification," a clearly relieved goalkeeper Simon Mignolet told us. "To make my comeback after four months in such an important match was certainly the moment to keep a cool head and I think I can say that makes me very satisfied afterwards. It has indeed taken a long time to return, and I certainly wasn't focused on this race to return, but it was just seeing when I was fit again and after the many tests over the past few days I felt I was ready again. It has indeed been a long road and I want to thank everyone who has helped me over the past four months to get me back on top. I dare not say that I am already 100 percent fit again, but very close to it. The match itself went almost perfectly for us, because we were ahead 2-0 very early on and then you play from your own position and don't get a goal against. I realized that keeping the score zero would be very important, because if Marseille had been able to score one I am afraid we would have had some dangerous situations in front of our goal, but fortunately that was not the case. My intention now is also to stay in goal from now on. Look, I have always chosen to be honest, but now I am match fit again and hopefully it will stay that way for a long time this season."
Ivan Leko: "Great night for the whole blue-black family"
Ivan Leko saw his team put in a great performance against Olympique Marseille. "I saw just now in the locker room only fond euphoria. This was a great night at Jan Breydel. Not only for the players and staff, but also for the whole blue-black family. The whole stadium was shaking on its foundations. This is a great victory for Belgian soccer. And a good lesson that by playing smart and showing guts you can win against a team that is bigger, has more money, better players and a better coach. Especially the fact that my players showed so much guts makes me happy. That was also the case against Arsenal. We lost but we showed guts and got them into trouble that way." Two weeks ago Club Brugge seemed to be in a slump after defeats against Charleroi and La Louvière, but in the meantime things have turned completely around after wins against Kairat Almaty, Zulte Waregem and Marseille. "I'm not a bad coach because I lose twice in a row once, nor am I a Guardiola because my team wins against Marseille today. You just have to stay calm in all circumstances. Today we can be happy and enjoy, but from tomorrow we have to be humble again and keep working hard. From tomorrow the focus goes to Sunday against Union, because that is already another very important match." Aleksandar Stanković crowned himself match winner with two assists and a goal. The Serbian has been playing at a very high level in recent weeks. "Aleksandar is a fantastic guy. He is a huge professional and invests a lot in his career. He is very coachable, very eager to learn and takes everything very well. He is also very humble and behaves very normally. My experience is that the greatest players make it far by being normal. Just think about Modric, Rakitic and Perisic. They have had very great careers but have always remained very normal. If Aleksandar can continue to develop in this way, I'm sure he can also have a great career." After the three goals against La Louvière and Zulte Waregem, Club did manage to keep the zero this time. Thanks also to Simon Mignolet, who had some clever saves to make. "We know how important Simon has already been for Club Brugge and he proved that again today. The role of goalkeeper is always very important. However, we were unlucky that both Simon and Nordin were out of contention. But now, fortunately, they are both back. Besides, keeping the zero is the work of the whole team. We attack and defend together." In the next round, Club Brugge will face Juventus or Atletico Madrid. "I am happy that once again we have the chance to play against an absolutely top team. Rest assured that we will do everything we can to fight them with dignity."