Adelino Vieirinha recovered from his injury and returned to action, playing for almost 60 minutes before getting substituted. After the final whistle, PAOK skipper spoke about the Moscow battle and the upcoming tie with SL Benfica. Here is what he said:

On his substitutions:

«I didn’t feel any pain. I had been out of action for almost a fortnight. I want to thank all the guys in the medical staff, physiotherapists and doctors, for their effort to have me ready even for 60-65 minutes. I couldn’t play more, but we qualified and that is the most important«.

On the opportunities PAOK created and the qualification:

«We want to make it to the group stage, that’s our dream, that’s our aim. We made a step forward. There are two matches remaining. We need to celebrate, rest and then prepare for the next challenge«.

Whether the team were prepared to play without him:

«I don’t know if they were prepared. I tried to be ready for all 90 minutes. We made a huge effort. My injury was a complicated one, regardless of my comeback in 15 days. The physiotherapists and doctors made a great effort to have me ready and I appreciate it«.

On the play-offs against SL Benfica and whether he will be at the centre of attention:

«I don’t want that. We are a team, a family and we all share the attention, not just me. We want to win and so far we have proved we have a very strong team. We are not afraid of any rival. It will be a very tough challenge, but we dream of making it to the group stage«.

Dimitris Limnios congratulated the whole team and said that all players put their soul in the tie:

On qualification:

«Congratulations to all players. We invested our soul in the game from minute one. We didn’t win, but were in total control. We wasted many big opportunities, while Spartak rarely bothered us. It’s a day of joy. We will celebrate, but come tomorrow we will return to work«.

On whether he expected that PAOK would go through without scoring in Moscow:

«We have a high-quality team. We created opportunities to score right from the start. Had we remained more focused, we could have scored two or more goals. We were tired towards the end. We fought like crazy from minute one, held our goal intact, earned qualification and that’s what counts after all«.

For his own and the team’s incessant running:

«I am a member of team with high expectations. It’s in me. Whether I play well or not, I need to run and help where is needed. Matos had been cautioned and I tried to help him. When possible, I tried to help on the attacking front as well. We have build an excellent team. Our coach insists that we need to give it our all on the pitch. That’s why we are playing at a higher level now. We need to keep up the good work«.