Stalemate accepted by Steaua and Schalke
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
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While Laurenţiu Reghecampf admitted FC Steaua Bucureşti had been short of inspiration, Jens Keller reflected on a hard-earned point for injury-hit FC Schalke 04.
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Laurenţiu Reghecampf, Steaua coach
We played a good match, especially in the second half. Unfortunately we were not so inspired and it ended in a draw, although we missed some big opportunities. We needed to win, but first of all we had to be cautious and not concede any goals, to stay as compact as possible. I can't be angry with my players because they all did their best.
We still have one match to play in London and then we will analyse everything in order to see what has to be done and how we will be next year. We want to win the championship and to qualify for the Champions League group stage again. We need experience and we have to learn from every match we play, because we have produced some good displays during this group stage. The Champions League is a very high level of competition.
Jens Keller, Schalke coach
For us, the situation has not been easy at all. This morning we found out that [Kevin-Prince] Boateng and [Julian] Draxler could not start as they were both ill. In total we had nine players unavailable, plus two more [Draxler and Chinedu Obasi, who both came on as substitutes] who should not have played at all, as they were weakened because of flu. We played decent football in the first half. We had a lot of possession and created several opportunities. We closed down the space well and only allowed Steaua one chance.
In the second half the game turned into a more open contest, in which both teams could have scored. Everybody could see that Steaua wanted to win; they had some good chances. Unfortunately, we were not able to take advantage of the free spaces created in Steaua's defence. In the end, we have to acknowledge that a 0-0 draw is a fair result.
Even if we had scored, the situation would have been the same: we need a win against Basel [on matchday six]. We want to win, because we want to qualify for the knockout stage. Our position in the table isn't bad at all. We have a home game in which we can decide our fate and secure a place in the next round. If you want to prevail in the Champions League, you have to win games like the one coming up.
