Koeman thrilled by narrow win

Ronald Koeman, Benfica coach
This was a very good result. It was a tight match with very few goalscoring chances and the ones we had, from free-kicks, we failed to take advantage of. In the first half they were strong, but in the second half we played better and attacked better. It was important not to be afraid of them, but also not to concede goals. We opted to control the play in midfield and that's why we picked three central midfielders. [Georgios] Karagounis's entrance was good for us because he helped us attack more from midfield. Liverpool's style of play didn't surprise me, but [Steven] Gerrard's absence did. Now at Anfield, if we score a goal they'll have to score three, so it's up to them.

Rafael Benítez, Liverpool manager
We lost with a goal that we shouldn't concede. We saw this type of free-kick in the videos and we should have avoided it, so it's a pity. However, we trust in our strength and we'll work hard to turn the tie round. In the second half, we tried to counterattack, using the speed of [Djibril] Cissé, but it didn't work. In Liverpool, we will have to attack, so there's something that has to change. We dominated, but we failed to create any danger. I decided to save Gerrard because he had a dead leg and that's why I didn't play him from the start. At Anfield, with our supporters behind us, we have everything we need to score two goals and we are confident of doing that.