Salvio happy to achieve Atlético goal

After receiving the adulation of his team-mates for the spectacular last-minute strike that gave Club Atlético de Madrid a 2-1 UEFA Europa League quarter-final victory against Hannover 96, Argentinian attacker Eduardo Salvio admitted he was just relieved that a difficult game had ended on a positive note. Visiting midfielder Lars Stindl, meanwhile, believes the Bundesliga side's away goal could prove crucial in next Thursday's return leg.

Eduardo Salvio, Atlético forward
I'm very happy with my goal but the most important thing was that we achieved what we set out to do which was to win. We knew that the tie was going to be hard when the draw was made and that we would have our problems at home and away. Hannover were never going to be the type of team that gave away chances cheaply so we had to prepare to put in a great game tonight.

I always try to do my best and tonight, just as on other nights in the UEFA Europa League, I managed to score. We will go into the return game in a very serious manner and will need to keep our focus for the entire 90 minutes. It's also going to be important that we look to score. We have the same chance in this tournament as all of the remaining teams.

Adrián López, Atlético forward
It's a pity that we conceded but what was important was winning. We kept on working throughout the game and in the end we managed to secure the victory. We will look to score again in the return leg in Germany. Although it will be a tricky game, if we manage to do that we will have a very good chance of getting through. Every team in Germany is strong and we are aware of what we are up against over there. We have a slight advantage but we will look to cause them [further] harm when we meet again.

Diego, Atlético midfielder
I've recently come back from a five-week lay-off but I felt good out there tonight. The result we got is a dangerous one looking ahead to the second leg. There will be a significant amount of preparatory work needed ahead of our trip to Hannover; we know they will be up for it at their own ground. We will need to be alert and aware of every little detail about our opponents.

Mirko Slomka, Hannover coach
In the first half we were overwhelmed by the occasion and were not at the level of our opponents. We did a lot better in the second half, especially from set pieces. We even had chances to take the lead through Mame Diouf and Konstantin Rausch. But everything is open in the return leg and we want to turn the tie around. In order to achieve that we will need our fans behind us. It was annoying to lose this game so late in the day but we will take the positives from having managed an away goal.

Ron-Robert Zieler, Hannover goalkeeper
We are disappointed to lose this game at the death. For a long time, it looked like we would be leaving here with a 1-1 draw. We are very strong at home and this tie is not over by a long shot. We will try everything in the return leg.

Lars Stindl, Hannover midfielder
We put up a great fight here, especially in the second half when things got a little hectic. We managed to score an away goal and in our own stadium we are strong enough to win.