Ange on the maturity of the team...
"I'm delighted with many things, super proud of the lads. Going away from home, a quarter-final against a very good side, you know you're going to have to work really hard, be really disciplined and we needed to score. We had to show the quality we had as well. To a man, I just thought they were outstanding, so proud of them. In such a big game, they delivered a performance and it means we're through to a semi-final. I think over the two legs we deserved to go through. It could have been all over in the first leg but we earned the right to be in the semi."
Ange on if he has a 'sixth sense' our name could be on the trophy...
"No, I don’t think that way. From our perspective, we’ve had a difficult season and I think there’s some reasoning behind that was pretty evident that when we've got our strongest team out there, a lot of things we’ve suffered with this year, I’m sure we wouldn’t have. The spine of our team, at times we've been missing Vicario, Romero, van de Ven, Bentancur, Solanke, all missing at different times this year. We've got the whole group. It's not just them, it's the whole group together. We know that we can be a team that's pretty compelling against anybody. We're in the final four now, so we've given ourselves a chance."
Ange on James Maddison's fitness...
"He is fine. Unbelievable courage in that moment to put his body on the line knowing full well that he was going to get a pretty severe knock and I was surprised it wasn’t a red card. Super courageous from him. He is sore, but I’m sure that has all been numb knowing that he has helped us progress to the semi."
Ange on the VAR call for the penalty...
"We can be facetious about that, but I thought it was a clear penalty. I’m not sure why it needed VAR. When a player wins the ball and gets cleaned out... if that was a defender it would probably have been a red card. It’s definitely a penalty. I don’t think it needed a review. Again, I think we got what we deserved."
Ange on his confidence on the squad being able to go all the way...
"Look, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We’re in the semi-final and will play a difficult opponent in the semi, but it’s not about my belief in the team. What’s more important is the belief the team has had because after a season like ours, it would be very easy for the players and staff, they could have left me in a pretty vulnerable place in terms of them splintering, but I’ve never felt that (even) with all the noise around our season. They’ve been so united in believing in what we’re trying to achieve here and that is what gave me heart all along that if we got our own slice of luck in terms of getting some players back that I really believed this team could achieve. That is what keeps driving me. It isn’t so much my belief in them, it’s their belief in what we’re doing and both players and staff have been outstanding. I am the front man for it but they take responsibility for it as well and all my decisions and everything I do, but not at any stage have I felt they lost any belief in me or what we’re doing. That is crucial when you’re having a difficult season, but there is also a season of opportunity there."
Ange on... Ange...
"I think I said yesterday, I am the same manager today that I was yesterday so if people think us winning tonight makes me a better manager or whoever thinks I wasn’t doing a good job yesterday, should be feeling the same way. I don’t care, it doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t affect what I do. For me, it’s always about the dressing room. Do the players believe? Do the staff believe? That’s much more important than what others may make of me. So, unfortunately for a lot of you, you’re going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer, so let’s see how that goes!"