Coach Mendilibar said, among other things, in the press conference after PAOK - Olympiacos: "It seemed like Olympiacos would take the lead. It seemed like things would be under our control. However, all we managed was to equalize.
Although it seemed like we could win in the second half too, we gave away chances and two goals to the opponent. We played a game that was meant for us to win. But when you make mistakes at this level, you pay for them.
We will talk about today's game (after a question about what's next). We played to win. We 'gave away' the game in the sense that we didn't score and we gave the opponent chances to score. It's obvious that AEK has the upper hand. Let tonight pass and we'll see how we proceed (regarding our position)."
Here's what the coach of the "red and whites" said in detail at the press conference:
- Where do you think the game was decided more, in missed opportunities or defensive errors? Because the flow of the game showed that Olympiacos was performing better on the field and threatening more.
Exactly what you said. Truly, in this match, the first half was one of the simplest halves we have played at this stadium; it seemed like Olympiacos would take the lead, it seemed like we had control, but all we managed was to equalize the goal we conceded. In the second half, again, we seemed like the team that could win, that was threatening more and could score, as you said, but we ultimately gave away two goals, and when you give such favors, a team like PAOK takes advantage of them. We leave with the impression that we played a game in which, with the performance we had, we should have won, but when you make mistakes at this level, you pay for them.
- What you're describing is that Olympiacos did themselves a disservice. After the defeat, what is the realistic goal for your team?
We will talk about this match and focus on this fact. We played to win, but we gave away the game. We didn't capitalize on the opportunities we had, and we gave the opponent the chance to score. We won't talk about anything more; it's obvious that AEK has the upper hand.
- Obviously, for Olympiacos, the goal is always the championship, but second place gives a good European ticket: are you considering that?
Let tonight pass. We cannot talk now about our European course for next year. We are level on points with PAOK, who also wants second place. Let's focus on tonight's match and then we'll see what happens next.
- You've had four matches with PAOK this year and haven't won any of them. Is there something about PAOK that you can't deal with?
What you're saying is true; no one can dispute the results, but every match is a different story. These are different stories against the same opponent. In the cup match, PAOK really beat us easily. The last time we came here, we had the upper hand for 60 minutes, and then PAOK recovered. Tonight's game was different, as was our defeat. All matches are different from each other. We don't dispute the results, but we can't talk about all games in the same way.