Aachen dream of ending exile

Aachen were better than us and congratulations are in order. They were fair winners. We are disappointed because we did not do what we should have during the 90 minutes. Our fans deserved more. Although we started well in the second half and had the chance to take the lead through Lyberopoulos and Katsouranis, we suddenly lost our concentration. We let Aachen do what they wanted. This is a fatal mistake when you play against teams with such a fighting spirit. The UEFA Cup competition was a valuable experience for us, but 90 per cent of our players had never been in a European competition before and it was difficult for them to get a grip of the UEFA Cup reality. But we learn through our mistakes. AEK coach Fernando Santos

It was a balanced match and although there were no chances in the first half, I told my players at half-time they had already climbed a mountain, but hadn't reached their target yet. After AEK created some chances at the start of the second half, we started coming forward too and took advantage with our first opportunity. That boosted our self-confidence and we scored again. It was a fair result for Aachen. You can imagine the atmosphere in the dressing room afterwards. This was a huge boost for the club and for the city of Aachen. What makes me even more proud is that we were the better team against AEK, Lille and [FC] Zenit [St. Peterburg]. Sevilla were the only team better than us. Our main goal remains our return ticket to the Bundesliga and I know that today's result will lift the morale of my players to keep fighting so that we get it. Aachen coach Dieter Hecking

We were the more positive and attacking side, in a word the more motivated team, and although it was hard to break down the Spanish defence, we deserved our goal and were rewarded for the way we played. Lille coach Claude Puel

Both teams played a similar game and it was clear that the first to score would control the match. Much of the play was concentrated in midfield which meant that neither side could push forward and create too many chances. We wanted to finish as group winners, but we have to be happy with coming second which means Sevilla's name goes into the hat with some of the most important clubs in Europe. Sevilla coach Joaquín Caparrós