On whether Olympiacos were unlucky given the chances they created:
“The result is fair because those were the goals that went in. We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. We created more than the opponent but failed to convert them. The goal we conceded came from our own mistake, and that’s football — it’s about mistakes and successes. We could have done more, but we didn’t.
In the Cabella incident, the worst thing was that it looked as if there was no VAR in this match. There were situations that could have been checked, but they weren’t. So what’s the point of having VAR if they don’t use it?”
On whether Panathinaikos’s goal, coming from an individual defensive error, left a bitter taste:
“As I said, the goal was from our mistake, but the opponent had the quality to make us pay for it. We didn’t have the quality to turn our many chances into goals. In football, goals and mistakes decide games. In this match, the mistake came from Retsos — who otherwise had a very good game — but Panathinaikos took advantage of it. At least we managed to equalize in stoppage time, even though we had plenty of chances to win. We walk away with a point.”
On the surprise inclusion of Scipioni in the starting XI:
“If I didn’t know my players well — the ones I see and train with every day since preseason — I wouldn’t be a good coach. I had Scipioni throughout the summer preparations. He hadn’t played until now, but he kept working hard and pushing. When I pick the starting XI, I do it for the good of the team and based on which players are in the best condition to perform. That’s why I chose Scipioni today.”
