Celta united in delight

By Graham Hunter in Milan

RC Celta de Vigo coach Miguel Ángel Lotina and his players were united in agreement after qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League with a 2-1 win at AC Milan – the Spanish side are ready for anybody in Friday's draw.

First Champions League campaign
After reaching the last 16 in their maiden Champions League campaign, Lotina's players all claimed their win had been fully merited and indicated they could beat any team on their day.

'Minor miracle'
Experienced Argentinian defender Eduardo Berizzo was in euphoric mood after the match. saying: "Although we came here believing we could win, the truth is that we've done a special thing tonight. We've made a minor miracle, which is huge for us, for the city, and for anyone who believed in us."

'We can beat anyone'
French midfield player Peter Luccin agreed, and predicted that it would be other teams who would have to respect the Spanish club when the draw is made. "I don't care who we draw now," he said. "We are ready for anyone. I genuinely believe that over two games, there is no club we cannot beat."

Lotina laughing
Lotina, meanwhile, was in jubilant mood, contrasting his team's extraordinary European season with an extremely difficult domestic campaign that had led to speculation about his future in some quarters. "Celta will certainly be in the last 16 when the new year comes," he joked. "I just don't know if Lotina will be there too!"

Vast improvement
The game hinged entirely on the huge improvement in the Spanish team's second-half performance. Despite being without the likes of Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta and Andriy Shevchenko, who are all in Japan preparing for Sunday's European/South American Cup game with CA Boca Juniors, the holders totally dominated the first 45 minutes. Serginho hit the crossbar, Kaka had a strike ruled out and Marco Borriello missed a number of clear chances, before Kaka gave the home side the lead with a brilliant right-foot drive.

Instant response
Jesuli equalised for Celta almost immediately, however, and the second half was a different story, as Milan defender Martin Laursen admitted. "We played a fantastic first half, but we were very bad in the second," the Danish international said. "But in the second half Celta made sure they always had equal numbers when we were defending."

Attacking switch
A tactical change from Lotina turned the tide, as the Celta coach pushed Jesuli and Gustavo López further forward to support Savo Milosevic, who had previously looked isolated. Suddenly possession was not surrendered so cheaply, and Milan had less material to work with.

'Great feeling'
The winner came from Luccin's cross, with José Ignacio Sáenz sweeping the French midfield player's cross beyond Christian Abbiati at the second attempt. "In the first half we showed too much respect, but when Jesuli scored it helped our confidence and we knew we could win," Luccin said. "It's a great feeling to beat the European champions - we all knew that we were capable of doing it."

'Deserved qualification'
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti believed the group's final standings were a fair reflection of the four sides. "I think that the second-best team has now qualified from the group," he said. "Celta started slowly, and finished strongly."