Comments on the game

Affengruber: “The last 15 minutes were madness”

The fans celebrated their team despite the defeat.(Bild: APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU)

Sturm Graz lost 3-0 to OSC Lille in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Conference League on Thursday and are therefore already on the brink of elimination before the second leg. 

Christian Ilzer (Sturm coach): "In the end, unfortunately, it was as clear-cut as the result. Right from the start, we didn't bring the energy and intensity onto the pitch to restrict the flow of play of such a dominant team. We were just running behind. Lille are a class team. We systematically tried things again and again. In the end it was like this: we couldn't get there in the pressing, we lacked the last two meters. When the course of the game is optimal, energy can come, then you can surpass yourself. But that wasn't the case today. But the game should give us good learning points."

Christian Ilzer(Bild: APA/ERWIN SCHERIAU)

Stefan Hierländer (Sturm captain): "We never really got into our game. We wanted to put a lot more pressure on Lille, but we didn't manage that at all. It's a bitter, heavy defeat that we didn't want. We weren't at our top level today to stand up to Lille. The starting position is very, very bad. It's very, very difficult in Lille at 3-0 down. But we'll go there and give it our all and then we'll see if there's a soccer god on our side."

David Affengruber (Sturm defender): "It was difficult to get into the game, they showed really good ball security. We didn't find the trigger for our pressing. We left everything on the pitch, and we'll have to do that again next week in France. Of course it's difficult, you have to be honest. We're not going to bury our heads in the sand. It was our first defeat this year, but the fans had our backs at all times. The last 15 minutes were amazing. That's the kind of support you want."

Jusuf Gazibegovic (Storm defender): "We played against a top team who proved how strong they are. Despite everything, I think we can play better. We didn't give ourselves that much credit, you could see that in a few situations. That's a bad thing to say in hindsight. We didn't play to our potential. But you have to grow from something like that."

Paulo Fonseca (Lille coach): "It seemed easy from the outside, but it wasn't. We dominated the match right from the start, with courage, ambition and energy. We saw Sturm against Atalanta and Sporting, how they press, how they switch when they win the ball. We adapted very well, didn't allow much pressing and built up very well. It was one of the best away games this season."