Pedro Martins’ quotes in detail:
On what Olympiacos lacked in the first match and what is needed in the second: “I think we were not efficient enough in the opportunities against Porto. If we were, we would have scored goals and got points. Also against City, which is a top team, we believe we had a very good half and we had something to fight for. We still have hopes and we continue believing we can qualify. From tomorrow we start the qualifying effort again. We must prevent City’s ball possession. We have things in our favor, such as that we’ll play in Karaiskakis and we’re always stronger at home. To qualify, we’ll need at least two wins in the remaining matches”.
On whether there are new problems: “Now we have two more certain absences: Lazar Randjelovic, who will definitely not play, and Rafinha, whose condition we still have 24 hours to evaluate”.
On the conditions in the national teams with the coronavirus and the trips: “I disagree with many things, especially with the protocols and the fact that they (the national teams) don’t respect the situation. I’m referring to national teams that make friendly matches and put players at risk with travels. I think the problem is located in Africa. We understand the conditions, the period and the difficulties, however a solution must be found. These things are unacceptable, putting players in the same room and endangering their health. FIFA must analyse these things”.
On Randjelovic, Hassan and El Arabi: “Lazar is positive for the coronavirus. As for Hassan and El Arabi, there’s nothing we can do but wait”.
On whether he has settled on what he wants to do tomorrow in the match against City: “Yes, I don’t want to talk about problems anymore, either they’re problems with national teams or other issues in general. Every time we’ll have a problem we’ll solve it. Olympiacos has a high quality team and we want to focus on our level. Olympiacos gains strength in Karaiskakis. We have absences, but we have solutions and good players and we want to repeat what we did in the second half against City. I don’t think many teams have done that. We want to play with passion, with courage and make a good game”.
On what he has learned from City and Guardiola after the first match: “City is always a candidate for the title. The reason he haven’t won is the quantity and quality of the teams in this competition. He will always be among the title contenders. Nevertheless, we have quality, we have handled difficult matches and this is what we intend to do to continue fighting”.
Rúben Semedo’s quotes in detail:
On whether the defense will be key of the match: “No, I think the key of the match will be our concentration. We must follow what the coach tells us and we’ll make it”.
On how much the fact that they have National team matches affects players: “Anyone who plays in such a big club is used to consecutive matches and international fixtures. This isn’t negative. It’s positive because you learn and improve and try as hard as you can”.
On the way Olympiacos will play: “Against City we’ll try to keep the ball in our possession. In the first match we tried to keep the ball and created opportunities. We’ll try to take the ball and create opportunities”.
On Olympiacos’ defensive line: “My opinion is that the more you play with a player the better you function with him. Olympiacos is a top team with top players. We must not concentrate on the names but on the whole team feeling good”.
On Cristiano Ronaldo: “The truth is that, when we have free time, we talk about a lot of things and a little bit about football. The truth is what you said: he’s one of the top players in the world, but personally I stay focused on my team and that’s enough for me”.
