Olympiacos coach José Luis Mendilibar spoke at the post-match press conference following the game against FCSB. He began by saying:
“It was two different halves. We started strong, created threats, and controlled the game. However, in the second half, the opponent played more direct football, which made things much harder for us. We didn’t manage to apply the aggression we wanted or increase the pressure on the opponent’s goal.”
In detail, words by the experienced coach during the press conference:
After five matchdays, your team is unbeaten in five matches and sits at the top in Greece, despite the problems you’ve faced, such as tonight with Yaremchuk’s injury. What do you think will follow in Greece and Europe?
“It’s true that Yaremchuk’s injury was a significant setback for us because, at that point, we had the numerical advantage and were trying to capitalize on it by adding another forward. When he came on, you saw that he created an important opportunity, but we lost that advantage with his injury. Players get injured during the season, and no matter how large a squad you have, it’s never enough. On the bench, we didn’t have another striker to replace him as we would have liked. That’s just the schedule—we might need to give our players more rest, but we can’t do that with so many consecutive games.”
Was this match a missed opportunity for progressing further in Europe, particularly regarding qualification through the top 8?
“Everyone keeps asking the same thing and wondering how many points a team needs to qualify directly. But not all teams share the same goal of direct qualification. The main thing is to advance to the next phase, however that may happen. We can’t talk about missed opportunities—we also have an opponent to contend with. We knew from the start it would be a tough match against a strong team. You can’t compare one game to another and call it a missed opportunity. We’ve earned a point now, and we’ll move forward to see what we can achieve in the upcoming matches.”
What did you think of Steaua’s performance, and did any of their players stand out to you?
“They are a team that plays well, wins duels on the pitch, and tonight, they played offensively and made the game difficult for us. However, they didn’t create as many chances as they would have liked to be as threatening as they wanted. I wouldn’t single out any of their players but rather commend their collective effort as a team.”
