MILAN - Here’s what the players and management had to say after the match ended:

MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI
"The only thing we have to be sorry about is the result. We played a better game than we did in Barcelona. We had to play exactly like we did and the players did that. Performances like this will help the self-confidence at the European level and we’ll need that. They’re very good at finding and utilizing space and we made a few defensive mistakes. Now we have a month ahead of us where we can’t make any mistakes in the league. We have to recharge our batteries as quickly as possible because Chievo on Sunday will be difficult. We have to try and get as many points as possible before the Christmas break.”

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
"If you ask me it was a great game. There were five goals and 2 teams that did very well. Both had already qualified but they held nothing back. I’m sorry about the loss but as long as we play like this, I’m not worried. Clarence Seedorf gave me a great ball and I put it away. We’ll do better in the next game. A lot of teams show Barcelona a lot of respect prior to the game, we showed it on the pitch as well, challenging them and we did everything to win. Boateng scored a great goal. We were tired in the second half because in the first we ran a lot. Barcelona make you run a lot. I didn’t see the penalty, but against Fiorentina I saw Seedorf’s goal and the penalty. But these things happen. The referees did their job. We’re fine, we’re going well and now we think about the next game. We have Chievo on Sunday. We can go far in the Champions League. We’re a team that’s growing and we’ll do the necessary work to get to where Barcelona already are.
I feel good. I like to create goals, I like to play up front and deeper .I’ll do whatever is needed to help the team and when Cassano isn’t here, I’ll fall back a bit and when he gets back he’ll be the one putting his foot on the ball. Chievo will be fresher as they didn’t play midweek. But when you’re a strong team, you have to play your best.”

CLARENCE SEEDORF
"I enjoyed myself a lot. You all saw a great game. Both teams played well. We can go home with the awareness and the conviction of what we’re capable of. It was a game played very well. With humility, we can take the positives from this evening and treasure them.”

GIANLUCA ZAMBROTTA
"We played better than we did in Barcelona. We took some risks up front and at the back. But we were up against the best team in the world at the moment and we played well. It’s a good injection of self-confidence. The team gave all we had. At the end we might even have got a result. We should be satisfied with this game and go home with the awareness that we can play against any of the teams in the Champions League. Players like Xavi and Messi make the difference. Their timing is so good. We should send our compliments to Barcelona, a team with phenomenal players, but with just a little bit more luck, we could have brought home a result because we caused some problems for their defence. When you meet teams like this, it’s always difficult because you never know what they can come up with. We held up well. We now have to maintain this rhythm and concentration. Our objective is to get back on top of the table before the end of the year”

ALESSANDRO NESTA
"No, I’m not worried about the injury. We’ll see.”

COACH ALLEGRI DURING THE PRESS CONFERENCE
"Milan played a good game. We conceded a few chances but we created as well. We played a good game with our eyes wide open. I think that this performance bodes well for when the Champions League starts again in February. We’ll go home with more self-confidence and knowing that we can be competitive in the Champions League. I don’t know how far we’ll get. That’ll depend on individual episodes and how we’ll be in February. We had to play as we did. It would have been worse if we played like we did in Barcelona when we got the draw but with a worse performance.
We had a couple of chances in the first half which we could have done better with. I chose Robinho because Pato has only played 20 minutes in the last month and a half and also Robi helps the defence more. I think Barcelona is the strongest team in the world at the moment and together with Real, are above the rest. I think that they’re the favourites for the Champions League. Nesta was a bit tired, he had been running hard. I had already wanted to take him off but unfortunately, he hurt himself right at that moment. The referee had a good game. I don’t think there are any episodes to be contested. In the last four days, I’ve seen too many episodes and I haven’t yet seen the penalty. Nocerino and Aquilani both put in good performances. I’m happy with all the players; it’s a good injection of self-confidence.”