Jesus relieved at Benfica resolve

John van den Brom, Anderlecht coach
It was a very close call, but we ended up with nothing and that's very disappointing. Both teams played to win at an extremely high tempo. Despite going 2-1 down at a very difficult moment we kept searching for the equaliser. When that came, we then totally went for it one last time, but in the end we have nothing.

I had warned them about the difficulty of this match. We had a good start but then conceded the equaliser and it was hard for us to react. We still tried to [do so] yet then conceded the second goal. However, the fans tried to help us and that helped us score our second. I also thought it would be possible to get a third goal and attempted to motivate my players, but it was Benfica who snatched it – we didn't get the fruits from all our good efforts.

In the Champions League, nine times out of ten a mistake leads to a goal. We've seen that again tonight, but we have young players who are still learning and playing matches like this will make them more experienced. Sometimes they still make mistakes that impact on the outcome of matches, but that's normal for young players.

The way we played is a good basis to build on. This is a learning curve for the youngsters, but we have also experienced great moments in this Champions League campaign.

Jorge Jesus, Benfica coach
It was an important and necessary victory. We didn't play that well, but the result was very good for us. Despite going 1-0 down, we scored at the right times and that helped us a lot in terms of the outcome. We now have to keep working hard to improve further and do better. My own ability to do that is also dependent on the number of injured players.

Thanks to PSG's victory over Olympiacos we still have an opportunity to progress in the Champions League. Right now, we are certain at least of playing in the Europa League next year. Where we end up will also depend on the Anderlecht-Olympiacos result on the final matchday.

Our goal is not completely achieved. We want to be in the Champions League above all – the Europa League is secondary. There is still hope. I would like to think that Anderlecht can draw or win in Greece, but the atmosphere over there will make things hard for them. Nevertheless, their defence can hold the Olympiacos attack.

But first we need to do our part, beating PSG. We endured difficult moments this evening, allowing Anderlecht to get stronger and score goals. I changed my substitution, introducing Rodrigo instead of Ivan Cavaleiro, because I knew his speed could surprise Anderlecht. Fortunately, things worked out well.