Jol and Allegri satisfied with draw

Martin Jol and Massimiliano Allegri were both happy if not content after their sides, AFC Ajax and AC Milan, drew 1-1 in Group G. Jol was left to rue an injury to left-back Vurnon Anita, who was off the pitch receiving treatment when Zlatan Ibrahimović equalised, and from then on the Rossoneri looked the more likely victors.

Martin Jol, Ajax coach
I would have preferred to win, but we can be satisfied with the draw. In the first half things went so well for us, in a way you can only hope for before the match. You can talk all day about wanting to make up for the result in Madrid but it's a different matter entirely to actually do it. We did it really well. It was a real pity that Anita went off injured. AC Milan equalised when we were temporarily down to ten men [as Anita received treatment].

We were unable to make it quite so hard for them in the second half. Luckily, Maarten Stekelenburg prevented us from losing in the final stages. It's getting ever harder to finish in the top two, but in the upcoming matches against Auxerre we will be able to do good business again. Those games will be crucial for us. After that we will see what is possible.

Massimiliano Allegri, Milan coach
It was a good game with both sides trying to win it right until the final whistle. We had our chances but couldn't find a second goal unfortunately. We could have done better but I'm satisfied because we did well alternating between a good passing game and long balls up to Ibrahimović. We created chances whenever we tried a more direct approach and we should have used the tactic more.

We've had clear plans for this team since the start of the season and right now I'm trying to find the right balance. In order to do it every player must be ready to sacrifice themselves for the good of the team and this has been apparent over the past few games. Both myself and the team are aware that we still have to much to improve but we are going in the right direction. I'm positive we can do big things.