Romeo vermant: "I'm especially pleased with the three points"
After the match, goal scorer Romeo Vermant looked back on his match with joy: "It wasn't the best of circumstances and we had to adapt, but then when the goal falls, you really feel the reward for which you work. I'm especially pleased with the three points. We get on the plane feeling great, but of course we already have to look ahead to Saturday. Come next week we get to play awaits and we really need to get a result against them if we want to advance to the next round. But let's first focus on Saturday."
Aleksandar Stanković: "The ball really fell perfectly"
That other goal scorer, Aleksandar Stanković, also offered his post-match views: "I think my dad's goal was from just a little bit further off. I'm satisfied with my goal though, because the ball came perfectly in front of my foot and I was able to fire it in. The most important thing is the three points for us as a team. We get back on the plane with a good feeling."
When talking about the similarity of his father's goal, Stanković said the following: "I think my father's goal is the most beautiful Champions League goal ever. I have had to watch it many times at family parties, so yes I remember it very well."
Hans Vanaken: "All time top striker in Europe is a great milestone for me"
Our captain says the following: "Too bad about the goal we conceded in the last minutes of the match for our goal average. If we played it out even better at times, I think we could have scored even more goals today. That's a working point for us, but 1-4 is a good result knowing we had something to put right after last week. This has been a great response and it helps us as we now have something to play for next week."
"Club's all time top scorer in Europe: that's a nice milestone for me, but today what mattered most were the three points, as well as our performance as a team. I think our cooperation as a team, as a group, was really good today. This is something we can continue to build upon towards Saturday. Hopefully this is a start of another fine run from now on."
Ivan Leko: "Performance as a whole is most pleasing"
A convincing and heartwarming victory against Kairat Almaty, allowing Club to keep their chances of advancing to the next round of the UEFA Champions League intact. Coach Ivan Leko was a satisfied man after the match.
"The performance as a whole pleases me the most," the coach began. "Our mindset, focus, effort and attitude was very good. This was definitely a challenge for us because you come here on the back of two defeats. Stress also played its part and you don't know what to expect in this match. So I am very satisfied today and at certain moments we also played very good football. From the first to the last second, I saw a team that came here to compete. In addition, some aspects that we missed in some parts in the past few games were there now. I am very happy for everyone and especially for the supporters who traveled with us to Astana in these conditions. A great big kudos and thanks to them! I think this was also a great achievement for Belgian football. We in Belgium know what football is and it still remains not easy to perform well in the Champions League as a Belgian club. A 1-4 win here: some might say that this was against a 'small' team. However, don't forget that they only lost 2-1 against Inter in Milan and 3-2 in Copenhagen, as well as only the mere 0-1 against Olympiakos. Today, however, was a nice demonstration of how Belgian football has evolved in recent years."
Our coach also addressed the difference in the level of play of some of the players compared to past games. "We talked a lot and asked to see a very strong and stable team today that is hard to beat and difficult to play against. In addition, we asked for courage when we are in possession of the ball and that's what we have seen. It is difficult to talk about individual players. "
Mamadou Diakhon perhaps played his best game for Club. "It is now the third time he has started since I have been coach here. In those three games I thought he was very good. Against KAA Gent, he gave an assist and was perhaps match-winner. Against La Louvière he gave another assist and again today. It's a young player with potential and talent with a specific profile. We work a lot with him individually and also after training we try to help him to bring out his best qualities. He is a very modest player, eager to learn and I like this kind of player. They are approachable and teachable. If you have the right mindset, work hard and want to learn then you can see that even on the biggest stage like the Champions League he is of great value to us."
Next week the all-important final UCL game against Marseille is on the menu. "That is still very far away. Starting tomorrow, our primary focus is on the match against Zulte-Waregem (Saturday). So Marseille is definitely not on our minds just yet, but it is nice that we are still in a situation where we still have something to play for. So that's a big kudos to the guys, the staff and for everybody that we put ourselves in a situation where we can still play for something. In that game, we have almost nothing to lose and everything to win. We know that these can be great nights at Jan Breydel and we will do everything we can to add another great night to that," a satisfied Ivan Leko concluded.