Celtic stalemate cheers Strachan

Celtic FC manager Gordon Strachan and AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti were delighted with the performances of their teams in a goalless draw in Glasgow. The pair praised the battling qualities of their players and both remain confident their sides will make the crucial breakthrough in the second leg in Italy.

Gordon Strachan, Celtic manager
We're still in this tie, which is great testament to our players considering we're up against one of the best sides in the world. We go to the San Siro knowing if we can get one goal, we have a fantastic opportunity. If we can have more belief in ourselves then we have a chance to progress. It was a good lesson for us as we had a young team. Our back four in particular were all young and it was the first time they've played together in a big game. When compared with the experience of the Milan team, I'm very satisfied with my players' display. Our attitude was ten out of ten, but the technical side of our game was only five out of ten. If we can improve that side of things a little, then we can really give Milan a game over there. They passed the ball extremely well, particularly later in the game, but our grit and determination not to be beaten were first class.

Carlo Ancelotti, Milan coach
We have a great chance to progress after this match. We must win our home game and, while Celtic are capable of scoring, I'm sure we will. We played a very good game, exactly as I would have wanted, and we are confident that in our own stadium we can get the right result. I'm very happy with the performance. We conceded very little and created some good chances. Celtic were always going to be dangerous from set-pieces, but we also coped with that very well. It was important that we didn't allow them to play their natural game and we succeeded in preventing them from doing that. Our midfield worked very well all night.