Galatasaray downcast, CFR dream on

Torrential rain made the Group H encounter between Galatasaray AŞ and CFR 1907 Cluj a trial for both sides, but while Dany Nounkeu concluded that one point from three games was a disappointing UEFA Champions League total for Fatih Terim's team, CFR star performers Felice Piccolo and Mário Felgueiras took considerable heart from the way they clung on for a point with ten men.

Dani Nounkeu, Galatasaray defender
It was a very, very difficult evening for us – that was clear for everybody who saw how the game unfolded. The conditions were extremely tough. I can't say it made it easier for the defenders or for the attackers – the ball was just as hard to handle for every player. Now we have one point, with the next game coming up away at Cluj. One point is not something we can be pleased with – we were expecting more at this stage of the competition, but this is football. Now we have to pick ourselves up and go and look for three points away at Cluj. I don't feel like we are in the position to calculate whether we can reach the next stage of this competition – we just have to go and get these three points in Cluj.

Felice Piccolo, CFR defender
It was nice to be the Player Rater Top Player, but the result was more important. Now we have four points from three games, while Galatasaray only have one. Now we have to build on this achievement. In the end we defended for about 70 minutes. If it had been 11 against 11, maybe it would have been different, but an away game at Galatasaray was always going to be difficult. The difficult conditions, with parts of the pitch flooded, were not to our advantage., but as a defender it was just as hard to control the ball as it was for an attacker. We had to get to the ball before it hit the ground, because you never knew which way it would bounce. It was quite a surprise to see the pitch like this, because when we trained here on Monday, the conditions were perfect. However, as a team we have to be ready to play in all conditions. Four points are nice, but we still look at this tournament as a day-to-day challenge. You never know where we can end up. Why not dream?

Mário Felgueiras, CFR goalkeeper
The weather made it very difficult, even more so because we had ten men for most of the game, but it would have been a challenge with 11 too. Still, we got our act together as a team, and I believe this point we are taking home could be really important in the future. We can be happy with a draw given the circumstances, but we always start a game with the intention of winning it. I don't think the conditions, with all this water on the pitch, was to the advantage of one team or another. Both sides prefer normal conditions, but what can we do but deal with it?

Four points from three games is not bad. Obviously Manchester United will be first in our group, but in the race for second place, we have a big game coming up with Galatasaray visiting us on matchday four. If we can keep the three points at home, I'm sure we'll have something to fight for until the end.