Marko Nikolic: I am proud of the team but it will be a big battle in the second leg

The two managers spoke shortly after Wednesday's final whistle at the Groupama Arena.

Marko Nikolic:

"I am pleased that there were many in the stands, which is good for Hungarian football, but perhaps there should be even more when the two best sides from the last 2-3 years face each other. I congratulate my players and the rain fell all day and during the game, so it was not an easy surface to play on. Naturally I am pleased with the win and it always feels good to win a big game, but we cannot sit back as this battle is not yet over. Ferencvaros are a good side and it will be a big battle in the second leg in Fehervar. We managed to win the game from 2 good set pieces although there were not too many dangerous moments in front of either goal. If we could have been better in the defence to attack transition, we could have settled the tie but it is true that FTC also had one or two small chances. We are in a good run with 6 wins and a draw from the last 7 games. It feels a little like we are not given the full respect. Perhaps we put the bar too high last year by winning the league and what we did in Europe. The lads showed tonight that we are mentally strong going forward and play with our hearts. I am proud of them and thank the home club for the way they treated us."

Sergei Rebrov:

"We attacked a lot in today's game and we knew that our opponents would not be too attack minded. It is really hard to play a match when it is 0-1 early on and this is what happened. We conceded a very early goal. We had some chances in the first half and scored from one of them. We could have had more luck with converting more. We tried to create chances in the second half but we needed to also concentrate on Vidi's dangerous counter attacks. Discipline was extremely important and the players need to know their roles and not concede further goals. I was much more angry with my players after the Kisvarda cup match but today you could see that they wanted it. Believe me that it is so hard to play against 10 defenders. We now await the second leg and will try to turn things around."

Author: David Rechnitzer

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