After Braga, Beşiktaş 'can also beat Atlético'

SC Braga's 1-0 victory at Beşiktaş JK was not quite enough for last year's UEFA Europa League runners-up to overturn a 2-0 deficit from their home leg and Douglão made no secret of his disappointment. Beşiktaş now face Club Atlético de Madrid in the round of 16 and Fabian Ernst believes they have every chance of getting through that tie too.

Fabian Ernst, Beşiktaş defender
It was an extremely difficult game for us and we didn't play well. We were not up to our usual standards, Braga had more chances than us and we were lucky that they did not score more. Braga proved once again they are a very good side and it took us all 90 minutes tonight to secure qualification. Having the bonus of last week's 2-0 victory proved decisive.

Now we're up against Atlético Madrid, who I think are an even stronger team than Braga. But in a competition such as this, anything is possible. It's just two games so I would say we've got a 50% chance of getting past Atlético as well. We'll see how far Beşiktaş can go in this tournament.

Veli Kavlak, Beşiktaş midfielder
Obviously we are delighted to qualify for the next round, but I don't think we can look back on a good performance. We knew Braga would have their tactics ready, trying to make up for their defeat last week. And so they tried, making it a really difficult evening for us. Braga really showed they are a strong team, and we had to adapt to them during the game. We can only be happy to beat them over the two legs.

Now we have to get ready for the clash against Atlético Madrid, a big name in European football, but mind you, so are Beşiktaş. If we can beat last year's finalists, we can also beat Atlético.

Douglão, Braga defender
Tonight turned out to be quite disappointing for us. We knew it would be difficult but we always believed in victory. We gave it our all for the full 90 minutes, we were in control, created chances, but unfortunately the goals we needed didn't come. I guess for the fans it was an exciting game. But having to say an early farewell to a tournament in which you reached the final last year is hard.

We actually set out in the UEFA Europa League to do even better this year, but that ambition came to an end here in Istanbul. It is fair to say we lost the tie last week, not tonight. Having to play Beşiktaş at home is never easy, most certainly not when starting with a handicap such as ours. Still, I wish Beşiktaş all the best in the games to come.