Paulo Machado
“We knew it was going to be a difficult match and we had a problem in creating chances. We would exercise enough pressure as time went by, we raised our tempo, but we conceded the goal at a very bad point in time.
We let the goal in at the time we were pressing, we raised our tempo, but we failed to equalize. I reckon we can do something good in Europa League. Of course, we did not do badly in Champions League as well”.
Kostas Manolas
“I don’t think Schalke outdid us in the first half. In the second half, they had the scoring chances; so did we.
I work hard every day. My individual performance does not matter; what matters is that we failed to get the win and go forward in Champions League. Now, we have Europa League ahead, and I believe we can go far in that tournament and, hopefully, farther than last year. Participating in any European tournament is a great honor and we will try to make it into the next round”.
Djamel Abdoun
“In terms of defense, we performed well and that shows from the final score, since we played against such a great side as Schalke. I think our overall presence in Champions League was good. We qualified to Europa League and this is where we will focus on. But first, it’s the encounter against PAOK in Touba stadium. Our goal is to remain top at the championship table; then, we will concern ourselves with Europa League.
I don’t think it’s our opening defeat to blame. We knew it was going to be a difficult group, but we showed that we were able of delivering something good. We do not understate Europa League, it’s a great tournament but, now, we will focus on the Greek championship which is our main goal. I wish we will make this extra step further in Europa League; for us, for the management and our fans”.
Ioannis Maniatis
“Tonight, the whole team tried to obtain positive result. We didn’t make it. If we had been more effective in the first half and scored a goal, we could have achieved something better.
We hold our head up, nothing actually happened and we focus on the match against PAOK. We made it to Europa League and this is important. We qualified for the Europa League and we want to reach as far as we can”.
