Olympiacos coach José Luis Mendilibar spoke after the 2-3 win over PAOK in Thessaloniki.
Here’s what the Basque coach said in the press conference at Toumba:
We saw an Olympiacos looking to attack with long balls. Was this part of your tactics, seeing PAOK’s weaknesses?
This was our decision, not because we saw any gaps in PAOK’s defense, but because in our recent games, playing more directly has cost us. We decided to capitalize on second balls because in our last matches, we struggled in this area, and we felt this approach would benefit our play.
Was there a point where you felt intense pressure from PAOK?
It’s true that twice we managed to lead by two goals, and both times PAOK closed the gap. However, it was good that PAOK didn’t manage to equalize, which gave us the strength to push through to the end. It was an open game with chances for both teams.
