Olympiacos claimed all three points with a 3–0 win over Asteras Aktor, and head coach José Luis Mendilibar expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the “red-and-whites”.
Read below the full press conference of the experienced coach:
What’s your take about the two new players in the team?
You’re in a hurry to hear my opinion. They appeared at a good moment for the team, and they both did well.
Did you expect such a comfortable win so as to better condition the squad ahead of Panathinaikos? Also, a comment on Dani García, a player you know well, who scored his first goal for Olympiacos.
The truth is that the early goal made us feel comfortable in the match. García is not a player who scores very often, but today he did a good job inside the opponent’s penalty area. Managing a 2–0 lead is not easy, because you can concede a goal and feel the pressure. At 3–0, however, we were more relaxed and made the substitutions we wanted in order to rest our players.
Was this the most difficult match to manage among the recent run of games, in the sense that in the Champions League or in a derby, players are more well prepared?
When you play against a big and difficult opponent, in theory it’s harder to prepare because it’s harder to win, but in the way you mean it, yes, it’s easier to manage. The early goal helped us win. In a league match, winning is crucial and there is greater pressure to secure the three points, which help you a lot going forward.
Against AEK we saw Podence perform well, and today Taremi did the same. How important is it for Olympiacos to have these players in form?
When you have so many matches, the more players who are in good shape, the better it is for us. It helps us because we have many commitments and we will need all our players to be in good condition.
