On whether beating Astana was easy: “We can never say that earning a win is easy. What made our task easier was our own performance. We made an excellent start and got a significant lead before the break, which made things easier for us. So, this was due to our great display on the pitch in the first half that led us to this comfortable win”.
On whether Astana surprised him in a way: “It is true that Astana played exactly the way we expected them to play according to our analysis based on their previous fixtures. They didn’t give us a hard time. We were effective in the first half. Astana’s tactics were as anticipated. Things went as planned and for this reason, we cannot say that we dealt with any kind of surprise or problem in tonight’s match”.
On Cardozo: “I am very satisfied with his attitude. When analyzing a match, this includes also the forward players; so, we don’t stick on whether they scored or not, but on the player’s contribution both in defense and offense. Defensively, he helped the team a lot and, in offense, he demonstrated the proper team spirit. He didn’t try to take personal runs, yet he was the one who helped the team score and build-up the game. I think we received excellent feedback from Cardozo’s performance in this European fixture”.
On the artificial turf in Astana’s stadium: “This match is way too far in the future for us. We don’t even think about that. Now we got the Greek Championship and the Cup. These matches are very important and we have given no thought yet to the Astana match to be played on November 3rd”.
