Mourinho content with 'comfortable' Chelsea

José Mourinho, Chelsea manager
It wasn't a fantastic performance. It was a comfortable performance. It's enough. We did enough to win, enough to win without any difficult moments. I think if we'd scored the second goal we'd have jumped to another performance. At the same time, in the second half, when Schalke were winning 2-0, we knew only one point would be enough so we just had to control the situation from that moment.

At half-time I'd said we were at the limit. If we conceded and Basel scored, we'd be second. But after that a point was enough, so we didn't have to take risks or do silly things, just control the game. This is a competition that's too important; you cannot do silly things. You have to play safe. So it was not a fantastic performance, but it was comfortable.

There are good teams among the [eight group runners-up]. Of course we look to the teams that won the groups and you see there the main candidates to win the competition, the favourites. But in the second position we have difficult teams, champions, so it's hard. In the knockout phase, things become very tactical in one way and very emotional in another. It will be always difficult.

There are teams in this moment in better condition to win the competition, or at least to be considered favourites. We have to grow up, step by step. Some of my players haven't played in the knockout stage of the Champions League, so it will be a different scenario for them. Let's go for the last 16. If we win, we go into the quarter-final and, with only eight teams, we can think a different way. But now we must forget the Champions League until February or March.

Laurenţiu Reghecampf, Steaua coach
Again we played well, created some opportunities and again we did not manage to win. When you are one-on-one with the goalkeeper, you have to score. It is very difficult at this level – we realised what it means to play in the Champions League group stage, we gained plenty of experience this season and it's important to learn from all matches and from every mistake. Anyway, we are on a good path.

Now, back to the championship and we will travel to Piatra Neamt to win all three points. I saw that in Romania people do not consider us favourites to win the title. This is good for us. Let the other title contenders take this burden.