Blanc relief at Bordeaux reward

Laurent Blanc was left breathing a sigh of relief after FC Girondins de Bordeaux were made to sweat for a UEFA Champions League quarter-finals place, Kostas Mitroglou cancelling out Yoann Gourcuff's opener midway through the second half to set up a tense finale. With each team down to ten men after Matt Derbyshire and Alou Diarra had been dismissed, home nerves were not settled until Marouane Chamakh's clinching late header which left Blanc "wholly satisfied" and opposite number Božidar Bandović bemoaning a lack of belief.

Laurent Blanc, Bordeaux coach
We started very well, pressurising high up the field and getting the opener. We missed a few chances without being threatened ourselves, but the second half was a different story after Alou was sent off. At ten-a-side we got nervous and the second goal was most welcome. I'm wholly satisfied, though. The players worked hard at both ends and it brought good reward.

The Champions League can humble players because they know there is little margin for error at this level. No margin, in fact. I would like to see my players approach Ligue 1 games like that. It's what we lack at the moment. This win could be the start of something after two difficult months in domestic football. We're still on course for our targets, but this is the first of three important games: we face [LOSC] Lille Métropole on Sunday, then there is the League Cup final [against Olympique de Marseille on 27 March].

Alou Diarra missing the quarter-final first leg is a blow. We were calm  tonight until he was sent off. Without him we are not at our highest level. Six of the quarter-finalists would expect to beat Bordeaux, and I don't think Lyon would be a good draw. What I want more than anything, though, is to avoid Barcelona.

Božidar Bandović, Olympiacos coach
I have to congratulate Bordeaux; they played well. It was a good second leg. We went a goal down very quickly but we soon got back into the game, and were the better team in the second half. We levelled and created chances after that. I want to congratulate my players, although if they had had a bit more belief perhaps things could have been different. I'm not sure how we let those two goals in, but we looked our opponents in the eye this evening.

We knew Bordeaux excel from set pieces and that we couldn't afford to give away fouls to give them that chance. Bordeaux are a very good team, but we didn't show them too much respect. Over the two matches, there wasn't much between the two teams. After losing at home we decided to play more offensively tonight. Losing the first leg made it hard as Bordeaux are very strong at home and played very well. We couldn't manage it in the end.