Olympiacos head coach José Luis Mendilibar expressed his satisfaction with the 3-0 victory over OFI in Crete, as he stated during the post-match press conference. He was also asked about Ayoub El Kaabi’s two goals, as well as Mehdi Taremi’s decision to hand the ball to Christos Mouzakitis to score the third goal of the match from the penalty spot.
The full press conference of the “red-and-whites” coach:
How important is El Kaabi’s consistency in scoring for Olympiacos?
We hope that El Kaabi will continue to be very useful for us. After the Africa Cup of Nations he came back a bit tired, but the renewal of his contract and the goals he has scored recently, now and previously, have helped him. He is truly a very useful player for us and we hope he will continue helping the team.
How important is it for you as a coach to see a goalscorer like Taremi give the penalty to a young player like Mouzakitis?
At that moment Taremi really showed what kind of person he is. He didn’t need to score, and the team didn’t need the goal at that point. With that gesture he showed what kind of person he is.
Did you expect such a comfortable win in this match?
It wasn’t easy at all. What we can say is that we played at the same good level as in other matches, but on those occasions we weren’t clinical enough and couldn’t score to win. This time the goal came relatively early and that helped us feel calmer and play without pressure. Of course we pushed for another goal so that we could feel completely comfortable until the end and avoid taking risks. When the second goal came, things naturally became simpler for us. But the match was not easy at all, because we have played in the same way and at the same level on other occasions, but we weren’t able to score.
OFI seemed somewhat tired in their play. Was that something you tried to bring out in your opponent?
I think we dominated the match, especially in the first half more than in the second. OFI only entered our box twice. It’s very difficult for us to play against teams that sit deep, because you need accuracy but also a bit of luck to find space and create the chance to score the first goal. When that first goal comes, the opponent is forced to open up, and I think that’s what happened in this match.”
For about ten minutes towards the end there seemed to be some concern in your defence. Was that because the team became complacent with the 0-2 lead?
Yes, sometimes that can happen and we make that mistake. When we’re leading 2-0 we may keep the ball at the back and simply wait for the match to end. But that’s not the idea of our game. Our idea is to go for the third and even the fourth goal. Sometimes, however, it’s difficult for the players to keep that in mind when they’re already 2-0 up, and when we have opportunities to score the third goal we may not manage it. But our intention is to keep attacking until the end.
