Denizli delighted for Galatasaray after ´hardest 90 minutes´

Galatasaray coach Mustafa Denizli was a relieved man after his side secured a place in the Europa League with a nervy 1-1 draw against Group C rivals Astana.

After Patrick Twumasi fired Astana in front just after the hour in Turkey, Selcuk Inan grabbed an equaliser to see honours finish even in the battle of the bottom two.

Denizli blamed a lack of composure in front of goal for his side’s failure to make it a more comfortable night on home turf.

“This match was the hardest 90 minutes I ever had in my career in terms of the conditions and atmosphere,” he said.

“Our display was bad but we can overcome this. We had good chances but I don’t know if it’s because we panicked but we couldn’t convert them. 

“It’s a fact that we are having trouble in some positions.”

Astana coach Stanimir Stoilov felt the visitors missed out on a golden opportunity to extend their European campaign into 2016.

They briefly threatened to pick up their first ever win in the Champions League, only to be pegged back by their opponents just two minutes after breaking the deadlock.

“Frankly speaking, the final result of the game makes me feel disappointed,” he said.

“Galatasaray were not dominant. A big team like Galatasaray should have performed better.”

As for his team’s performances in the competition in general, Stoilov added: “Out of the six games we played in the group we just lost two games.

“It has been a nice season, a good experience for us. My team did their best but couldn’t make it to the end.”