Sommer and Basel strike lucky in Tel Aviv

FC Basel 1893 goalkeeper Yann Sommer told UEFA.com his team were lucky to survive a "very, very hard evening" after the Swiss champions withstood a stirring fightback in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC. The Swiss international said the "amazing" home support helped shift the momentum – sentiments echoed by Maccabi skipper Sheran Yeini, who was ultimately left to rue early errors after his side's 4-3 aggregate loss in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

Yann Sommer, Basel goalkeeper
We knew these games would be very difficult. Maccabi have a good team going forward and strong players who play good football. We started very well and quickly got a very nice scoreline. We had three chances and scored three goals, it was perfect.

Then we lost concentration and gave Maccabi too much space. I know these types of games, as we've had difficult away matches before. I knew if they scored a fourth goal it would be a very, very hard evening for us. I'm happy they didn't and we were lucky in the end. I'm just happy we're through. I was amazed by the Maccabi fans, too – at 3-0 down they didn't stop supporting the team. They gave them confidence and it was nice to see and to play here.

Fabian Schär, Basel defender
At 3-0 it was obviously a very good match for us – I think we can be happy to have scored three goals. But then we just lost the thread. We got into difficulties unnecessarily and conceded three goals. But in the end, the only thing that matters is that we made it into the next round.

The own goal I scored was a bit of a strange situation; I was too close and didn't manage to get my leg away, so it just happened. But there was good and bad in our game – we played well and badly.

The atmosphere in the stadium was incredible; even at 3-0 down their fans were still loudly supporting their team. It was an unbelievable atmosphere, so it is even nicer that we made it.

Sheran Yeini, Maccabi defender
We're not happy because we made a few mistakes to let Basel into the game. After we conceded the goals we started to control the match – we pushed them back and started to score ourselves. The fans were amazing and gave us a lot of energy. The stadium shook when we scored the third goal, but although we felt good, we could not find the net again.

I'm not happy that I conceded a penalty [after five minutes]. We knew we needed to avoid conceding even once, as we would then need to score three. But Valentin Stocker is quick and I made a mistake.

Carlos García, Maccabi defender
It's not that we were that bad in the opening stages – they scored three goals from three chances. It was a good match and I don't think Basel are much better than us. I'm disappointed, but proud of our fans. Now everybody knows how good they are. Our Champions League run is over but we have a very long season ahead.