Posted on: Thu 19 Sep 2013
We surrendered a half-time lead to fall to our first home defeat in the group stage since October 2003, but now have five games to recover and ensure we are in the pot for the last 16.
'It was a very tough game, an open game,' Ivanovic said. 'We had a lot of runs in the first half, and scored in a very good moment.
'We tried to kill the game in the second half and unfortunately the opposite happened. We conceded the first one, which was difficult for us, and after that we started to do different things. We weren't ready for that moment and we then conceded the second one to lose the game.
'We have to stand up and show the character for the other games because we can't go back and have to look forward.'
We next travel to Romania to face Steaua Bucharest before a showdown with Schalke, hosting the Germans at Stamford Bridge a fortnight later, and meeting Basel again on November 26 before rounding off Group E when we host Steaua on December 11. Maximum points would see us safely through into the knockout rounds.
'It's a bad start in the Champions League but it's just the first game,' Ivanovic said. 'We have to stand up, show the character in other games and this situation has to be a good example for the future.'
Immediate attention now switches back to the Premier League, where last weekend's defeat at Everton must be forgotten when we entertain Fulham in our first London derby of the season. Ivanovic and his team-mates will want to give nothing away.
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