Olympiacos were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League after a 2-1 extra-time defeat to NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands and will now continue in the League Phase of the UEFA Europa League. Following the away fixture, head coach José Luis Mendilibar said in his press conference:
“Both teams worked very hard for this match. We were fortunate enough to take the lead and wanted to hold onto it until the end, but we weren’t able to do so because the sending-off of our player really made things difficult for us. We conceded the equaliser and then the second goal at the start of extra time. We made some changes and tried to get back into the game, but it was extremely difficult for us to turn things around and secure qualification. We leave a match that we worked incredibly hard for without having achieved anything.”
Following the elimination, there is now the UEFA Europa League. How much can you improve the team’s performance so that Olympiacos can show a better side going forward?
We hope that when the UEFA Europa League begins, we will still have the same group of players we have now, because with football as it is today and the transfer window closing on 11 September, it is difficult to know which players you will have by then. You don’t know whether other players will have left by that point or whether new players will have arrived. This isn’t something that only happens at Olympiacos; it happens at every club, but it makes things very difficult. There are players who arrive late and have missed pre-season, while others complete the entire pre-season and then leave. This isn’t just a problem for Olympiacos; it makes things difficult for every team. By the time the transfer window closes on 11 September, the league season will already have started. We hope things won’t change dramatically so that we can begin our matches and, game by game, the team can find its rhythm.
What elements would you like to build on so that Olympiacos are ready for the League Phase of the UEFA Europa League?
We need to improve everything within the team. Our overall play, our defense, our ball circulation, and we need to provide El Kaabi with more support in attack. There are many things we need to improve and work on. We hope that before our next match we will have the opportunity to rest, work and improve the areas we need to.
How do you explain Olympiacos’ performance, particularly given that in both matches, when Olympiacos were in control, NEC Nijmegen were unable to stop them?
In football, there are two teams on the pitch. The fact that they beat us and qualified means that, of course, they were the better side. Tonight we took the lead, which was the goal we needed, but we weren’t able to hold onto it. The truth is that our opponents made things very difficult for us after that, and we couldn’t maintain the composure and concentration we needed at that moment to go on to win the match and secure qualification.
