Head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: “We started the game very well; we had a good energy and a lot of action in the opposition half. Unfortunately, the momentum shifted in Porto’s favour after their shot that hit the bar. What we’re annoyed about are the eight to 10 minutes where we briefly lost our heads and gave the ball away too cheaply. After that the boys did everything to reduce the deficit and we stood up to Porto for long periods. I therefore want to praise my team for a very courageous performance today despite the defeat – and it was only the first of two games in the round of 16.”
Atakan Karazor: “We’re seething with anger – we need to turn that anger into energy in the second leg. We were the better team for 80 minutes but 10 minutes have cost us a much better scoreline. It’s frustrating, but it shows you the high level in this competition. Porto were smart and clinical. We take away the knowledge that we can match them and that we now need to turn 80 good minutes into 90 very good minutes. I’ve seen the fire in the eyes of every one of my teammates that we can still turn this tie around.”
Tiago Tomás: “The result is disappointing but nothing’s decided yet. We had 10 minutes in which we gave away control, but apart from that there were a lot of good periods in our play. The fans gave us tremendous support and spurred us on, which gives us added strength for the return leg.”
