Solid Inter leave Sneijder smiling

FC Internazionale Milano playmaker Wesley Sneijder singled out his side's combative qualities after they put their domestic woes behind them to go top of Group B with a 1-0 UEFA Champions League win at LOSC Lille Métropole. "We fought as a team," said Sneijder, influential in the build-up to Giampaolo Pazzini's 21st-minute winner. Lille's players were left disappointed and determined to bounce back in Italy next time out, with Benoît Pedretti vowing: "We'll pull off a surprise."

Wesley Sneijder, Inter midfielder
The most important thing was the three points. It was a difficult game, but we knew that it would be because Lille are one of the toughest teams in this group, especially at home. However, we did well. We defended well and we fought as a team. In our situation, with us losing games, the most important thing was to get a victory and we finally got that today. We have a lot of experience in Europe and we know exactly how to play our games. We did it very well; we played very tight as a team, fought as a team, and up front we have individual quality, which means you can always get goals. We got one and that won us the game.

Lille have a great team. Actually, they also surprised me because they attacked us a lot. They have a lot of amazing, individual players. They did very well, but so did we. I wish them all the best.

Benoît Pedretti, Lille midfielder
It's frustrating because they didn't have many chances, but they scored the one they needed and defended well after that. They were very intelligent and didn't let us get behind them. We managed to get within 30 metres, but we made mistakes and they made very few, so they won the game. When we did get chances, their goalkeeper made a save. We couldn't make the difference we needed to get a goal.

It's not great to have two points after three games, but it's still possible for us, even if it's going to be difficult. We'll have to pull off an upset in Milan in two weeks' time and then build from there in Moscow. Those are two very tough away games, but if we want to go through, we have to get results. We have the potential to do it. We mustn't let our heads drop because we can quickly turn things around. I've got faith in this team and we'll pull off a surprise in two weeks.

Florent Balmont, Lille midfielder
We've put in a lot of effort in the Champions League, but don't have many points. We're in trouble in the group so now we have to get points, but we've got a chance to start doing that in Italy. They had one chance and scored and we had several without putting any away. We have hope. Since the start of the Champions Leauge season, we've played good games without getting the right result and that was the story tonight as well.

We have no more room for error. We need to keep progressing and this was another big game we can learn from for the rest of the competition. We saw tonight that we can match teams like Inter. We lacked a finishing touch and our crossing from the wings could have been better. It won't be the same over there, but I think we can do something.

Mathieu Debuchy, Lille defender
Were disappointed because we wanted to win to climb up the table. Unfortunately we lost, so we'll need to get a result in Italy. We started to play after their goal. We created a few chances but weren't sharp enough in the last few metres: we needed a better pass or a bit of magic to get us a goal. It's not easy to trouble a defence like that. They left us space on the wings and waited for us in the middle. There were a lot of bodies in there and it's difficult to find a way through when a team is organised like that. Our set pieces weren't effective enough either, and in a game like this they can prove decisive. We have nothing left to lose, so we have to play with freedom now.

Joe Cole, Lille midfielder
We're still fighting and we're still positive and hopefully we can move on. It's still possible for us. I felt we competed well tonight against a big team like Inter Milan and we'll go to Italy to try and win the game.