Basel pleased to be masters of their own destiny

Fabian Schär was thrilled by FC Basel 1893's cool performance in the 3-0 win against Sporting Clube de Portugal in Group G, emphasising the importance of having their destiny in their own hands when they travel to face KRC Genk on matchday six. "We always had the match under control," said the defender, who scored the first at St. Jakob-Park. More than the manner of the victory, goalkeeper Yann Sommer joined his team-mate in celebrating the fact Basel are still in with a chance of progressing, saying "it's a massive objective" for the club to take their campaign into 2013.

Fabian Schär, Basel defender
The goal I scored was not so special because I just had to score when I got the ball, but it was important because we gained confidence and were able to control the match from an early stage. Being able to keep that confidence when we had a player sent off was one of the key reasons for our success.

Of course, after the red card [for Cabral on 58 minutes], we were under pressure for a short time, which is normal, but the second goal came at the perfect time and relaxed us a little. It is unusual to score twice when you have to play with ten men against 11, against a team like Sporting. But it was important to win this game and now we hold matters in our own hands. In Genk we can control our fortunes independent of other results.

Yann Sommer, Basel goalkeeper
I did not have much to do tonight and that is a sign that we are really well organised and that we form a real blockade for the opposition. That is very important for us because three or four weeks ago our defence was not as stable and we were always conceding goals. It is always nice when I am not too busy and a clean sheet against Sporting is great.

It is a massive objective for us to go through but we still have one game left, in Genk. Games in this competition are never easy but we will see – it is a real target for FC Basel to still be competing in the Europa League after the winter.