Streller: Basel fitness behind Chelsea surprise

Captain Marco Streller said the superior fitness of his FC Basel 1893 side was the vital factor in their surprise 2-1 victory against Chelsea FC – and it made him especially proud to be in the first visiting team to win at Stamford Bridge in a group stage game since Beşiktaş JK's 2-0 triumph in October 2003. Basel's other goalscorer, Mohamed Salah, thanked his team-mates for helping him sparkle, while Chelsea marksman Oscar rued the missed chances that cost the hosts dear.

Marco Streller, Basel striker
Of course, I'm very proud of my team. I talked to my team-mates at 1-1 and said: "Boys, we can win here." I'm happy they listened to me. We've had more games this season than Chelsea and in the end we were the fitter team.  

All three wins were amazing [Basel have also beaten Manchester United FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC in the last two seasons], but I heard that Chelsea have not lost a European game here for ten years and that makes me more proud.

I caught [my goal] perfectly and then I saw the ball was in the net – I was happy. At half-time we said it was possible we could still get something from the game. We were down against Manchester United 2-0 and turned that game around. We believed and it came off. Chelsea away is the most difficult game in our group and if we keep playing like this we can go through.

Mohamed Salah, Basel winger
I want to say congratulations to our team for the victory and for helping me so much. I hope we can now go on and win the next game as well. We deserved the win. It was a good goal for me and for the team because we played four passes and I scored with a first-time shot.

We would have been happy with 1-1. Normally you come here and say we need one point and we are delighted with all three. [Ashley Cole] is a fantastic player, but I played a good game tonight. It is the second time I have scored against Chelsea and I also scored in our win against Tottenham last season, so I am very happy.

Willian, Chelsea midfielder
It was nice to make my debut for one of the biggest clubs in the world, although clearly it would have been even better if we had managed to win. But this happens in football. We have to lift our heads and go after victory in our next games. In every game and every training session I want to demonstrate [to José Mourinho] that he can trust me. That is what I aim to do throughout the season. There are always nerves ahead of a debut, but I managed to show a little bit of my game.

Oscar, Chelsea midfielder
We played well in the first half and at the start of the second, but we conceded a goal that destabilised the team and then fell behind. It happens, but we have to make up for it in the next game with a win. The system worked well today, but the ball just would not go in the net; we hit the bar, [Eden] Hazard went close. We had plenty of chances to make it 2-0 but ended up losing.