Alan Pardew: “The fact that Benfica really had a problem with us when we scored then I thought we would go on to get a second.
“When Hatem cut inside in their box I thought that was our moment, unfortunately he just got too much on it and it went over.
“We were so unlucky. There were fine margins as the difference.”
And Pardew believes had Ben Arfa been available for the first-leg tie at the Stadium of Light, then his side might well have been in the hat for tomorrow’s semi-final draw.
“If Hatem was fit in the first leg then who knows?” he pondered.
“I thought over the two legs Benfica had the rub of the green because we could have won that.
“But they are a magnificent club with fantastic players and they’ll be on the European stage for years to come.
“I think they can win it and we’ll be watching their progress between now and the final. We wish them the best of luck.”