Hakan Sukur's goal after 26 minutes looked like it could be enough to send Galatasaray through, before De Paula's cool finish earned a share of the spoils.
"De Paula is the ideal player for any team," said Denoueix. "His goal was a reward for all the hard work he does in training.
"He's always in form and he's such an intelligent player. He's been perfect for us.
"We've achieved what we set out to do in reaching the last 16. Now, let's see if we can improve our play in the league."
Gala coach Fatih Terim was positive in defeat claiming his side will now go all out and do their best in the Uefa Cup.
"We're sad but we're fighters and we'll look to do as well as we can in the UEFA Cup," said Terim.
"We didn't go out because of tonight's result; it was more to do with the mistakes we made in our home games, particularly against Sociedad."
