Benfica class 'makes the difference' at Basel
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Article summary
Heiko Vogel was proud of the way his FC Basel 1893 players performed in his first UEFA Champions League match in charge, but was left to rue SL Benfica's "cold-blooded" efficiency.
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Heiko Vogel, Basel coach
The 2-0 defeat doesn't reflect the way the game went, but we didn't capitalise on our chances. I have to congratulate the team. The players never gave up and fought brilliantly. This was also down to the fans' support; they were outstanding. Benfica were more cold-blooded than we were. They have players who can make a difference – as everyone could see for that great first goal.
If the second goal hadn't come at such a bad time, we probably would have caused them problems again. So compliments to my team for going the distance and performing well over the 90 minutes. I'm just not happy with the result.
Jorge Jesus, Benfica coach
We deserved to win, at least for 80 minutes. We had some problems late on with Emerson sent off, [Nicolás] Gaitán injured and other players at their physical limit, but in general we did very well. Basel pushed in those final ten minutes but we managed to control things – our central defenders were very strong.
I don't believe that qualification is near and there are three teams [Benfica, Basel and Manchester United] fighting for it. We have three more points than Basel and that's nothing.