Valverde's 'bittersweet' victory

RCD Espanyol coach Ernesto Valverde was left with a "bittersweet feeling" after his side lost a three-goal lead to end the first leg of their UEFA Cup quarter-final with just a 3-2 advantage against SL Benfica, whose coach Fernando Santos was the happier man.

Ernesto Valverde, Espanyol coach
The quarter-final stands at 50-50. We've won, that's the thing that counts and obviously we're at an advantage, but we are left with a bittersweet feeling because we were 3-0 up. Benfica's first goal caught us napping and we weren't able to react, which led to the second goal. I hope in Lisbon the stadium will be full because the match will be worth watching. We wanted to win and we've done that, but Benfica turned it around because they have great players.

Fernando Santos, Benfica coach
Espanyol started the stronger and it would have been nice if we were more focused. We let them play and we were not aggressive enough in the first 45 minutes. When we conceded the first goal, our heads dropped a bit and we lost our calm. Nevertheless we were able to fight back and react well in the second period. We scored two goals and they were very important because from that moment the team calmed down. We dominated after the goals and a final score of 3-3 would have been a fairer result. But this quarter-final is completely open now and it will all be decided in Portugal. I know my team have enough quality to get past Espanyol and go very far in the competition.