Liverpool next for Custódio's slick Braga

A 2-0 home win against KKS Lech Poznán sent SC Braga through to the UEFA Europa League round of 16, with midfielder Custódio hoping for a similarly polished performance against Liverpool FC in their next knockout tie.

First-half goals from Alan and Lima wiped out Lech's 1-0 advantage from the first leg, and while they were on the back foot in the closing stages when an away goal would have knocked them out, Custódio told UEFA.com: "I think we showed just how good we really are and now we have to keep the same mentality and quality in our game. Lech are not just any old team. They are Polish champions so that says a lot about their quality. They gave us some problems but I think we did OK."

Taking on Liverpool on 10 and 17 March means Custódio will be up against Raul Meireles, a team-mate from his time with Portugal's under-age teams. The 27-year-old said: "We have time to prepare for the Liverpool match. Raul Meireles is a friend who I played with for several years in Portugal's youth teams. Of course I want to beat him, but one thing's for sure, it won't be easy as Liverpool have a great squad."

The trail has gone cold for Lech, meanwhile, and though their Serbian midfielder Ivan Djurdjević enjoyed his return to Portugal – where he spent nine years as a player, with Braga's local rivals Vitória SC among others – he could not be happy with the result. "It's always very good to be here, even if this is a sad night for us," said the 34-year-old. "We could have qualified because we had the chances in added time but Braga deserved to go through for what they did here tonight. We started very badly and paid the price."