Europa League reaction: “We can make history” – Maxi Pereira
Sporting undone by “one of the best forwards in the world” – Abel
 Portugal’s two representatives in action in last night’s Europa League matches both put in good performances but only Benfica made it to the last eight of the competition. Benfica’s coach and players emphasised the justice of their victory over Marseille, while Sorting were left to rue missed chances.
Jorge Jesus, Benfica coach:
“It was a deserved victory. Benfica was always more of a team than Marseille. In the first half it was practically only us who created chances. When we suffered the goal it was undeserved because our superiority in the second half was even more evident.
“When we equalised I felt we could win before extra time, and I sent on Kardec. It was a great goal from Alan, maybe with a touch of luck as the ball fell nicely to him, but after everything we did in the game we deserved this luck. We went looking for it.
“We are now in the quarter-finals and anything is possible. We have the capacity to get to Hamburg, but we know we could come across strong teams who may not allow us to get there.”
David Luiz, Benfica centre-back:
“We knew it would be a difficult game. Marseille are an excellent team. When we were applying a lot of pressure we conceded a goal, but we knew our qualities and we believed until the end. We turned it around and qualified for the next round.
“At the Luz they neutralized our game, their coach was intelligent. But ours did the same in Marseille. They couldn’t stop us, we were better than them all game. We changed the way we played, because if we didn’t we wouldn’t have been successful here. We have to congratulate the players, but also the coach. And not forgetting the supporters.”
Maxi Pereira, Benfica right-back:
“It was a difficult game, but the team was confident that we would score. I’m convinced we are going far and we can make history in this competition. Benfica can reach the final”
Carlos Carvalhal, Sporting coach:
“The team is solid, plays good football and scored two goals against Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately we conceded two and we go out of this competition but with our heads held high. I am very proud of my team and the work done here up until now.”
Joao Moutinho, Sporting captain:
“We reacted well, both to the first goal and to the second and we got level again before the interval. In the second half we managed to create clear goal-scoring opportunities but unfortunately we couldn’t put them away. We’re disappointed because we feel we had enough quality to get through.”
Abel, Sporting right-back:
“We didn’t start well, we conceded a goal very early, but we reacted well. They ended up scoring two goals through a player who is, as everybody can see, one of the best in the world. We equalised twice and we could have scored a third. We had opportunities to do so. I remember one shot from Saleiro in which their goalkeeper made an incredible save. We did everything to get a better result.”
Polga, Sporting centre-back:
“We’re disappointed. We began the season with big aims, but in football sometimes these things happen. But I think the team never stopped fighting, even when we had problems during the season.”
Sporting 2-2 Atletico Madrid: as it happened
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cyaa folks
Benfica continues to be amazing. They can go all the all the way this season. I love the depth that this team is building. I keep hearing about clubs looking at paying 40mill+ pounds for Di Maria. I honestly wouldn't mind that, Coentrão is ready to step up into that roll next season. They can also use cash to lock in key players longer and sign some stronger LB.