Pellegrini praises Málaga's 'personality'
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
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While Málaga CF coach Manuel Pellegrini is looking forward to the round of 16 despite another late lapse against RSC Anderlecht, John van den Brom already has his sights set on next season.
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Manuel Pellegrini, Málaga coach
The goal this year has been achieved, which was to get to the next round. I think from now on every opponent that we can play against is difficult, and the important thing is to be in good shape when we play in February.
We have made mistakes at the back, but I am proud of my attacking players. I think it is a fair score. We have shown personality in this group stage. I am not going to evaluate my players on an individual basis. We conceded late goals in our last two matches, but despite that I still have a positive feeling.
John van den Brom, Anderlecht coach
We played well again, and we have proven we are able to compete at this level. In the end we took a well-deserved point from here, but that does not help us much. When I look back at all the six group stage matches, I am satisfied and proud of my team.
Instead of us taking a 1-0 lead we went 1-0 behind and that was a blow for the team at half-time. But they handled that well and we recovered in the second half; we kept on playing our own game and earned a very well-deserved draw.
In the away matches we have not done well enough; two points from three games is not enough. This edition of the Champions League has certainly provided the taste for more. For me personally, the Champions League was also a new experience and I really enjoyed it. Our goal is simple now – we have to qualify again next year.