Anastasiou: “The first goal was a psychological blow”
After losing to Legia Warsaw in the UEFA Europa League, Atromitos boss Giannis Anastasiou expressed his disappointment, while Aleksandar Vukovic felt the Poles deserved their win.
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In Poland, Atromitos had managed to frustrate Legia with a sturdy defensive performance, but they somewhat meekly bowed out of the Europa League at home. In the first half, Pawel Stolarski grabbed the crucial away goal for Legia with a drilled effort, before Valeriane Gvilia poked home from close range in the second to seal the deal for the slick Poles.
Giannis Anastasiou noted the importance of the first goal: “This is a disappointing result for us,” stated Anastasiou. “The first Legia goal was a big psychological blow. To be honest, a lot of the guys weren’t ready, but they tried their best and we have to look ahead to the start of the Super League. We must move forward with the positives.”
“The mistakes which we made are unacceptable at this level,” continued the 46-year-old. “We made too many errors, especially for the second goal. Such details make the difference in these matches. We lost against a high-quality team. Transfers? I will speak to the management to see if we can make any more additions.”
Legia manager Aleksandar Vukovic also shared his opinions in the press-conference: “It was very difficult for us here,” revealed Vukovic. “Atromitos were more aggressive today, but we were prepared for that. I had told my players to be ready for a different Atromitos than in Poland. We deserved to win, because we were the better team in both games. I congratulate Atromitos with their performance. Atromitos need time.”
