Lucescu acknowledges difference in class, Sarri disappointed with only one goal
Lucescu acknowledges difference in class, Sarri disappointed with only one goal
After losing to Chelsea in the opening match of the 2018/2019 UEFA Europa League group stage, PAOK manager Razvan Lucuesu admitted the difference in quality between the two sides, while Maurizio Sarri was frustrated his team didn’t score more goals.
Inside a sold-out Toumba Stadium, PAOK struggled against their illustrious opponents, falling behind within seven minutes as Brazilian attacker Willian slid the ball under the sprawling Alexandros Paschalakis. In truth, Chelsea should have run away with proceedings, but the English outfit were wasteful in front of goal against a PAOK team which simply couldn’t create anything.
When speaking to the media following the match’s completion, PAOK boss Razvan Lucuesu shared his feelings on the disappointing defeat in Thessaloniki: “You can’t be satisfied when you lose, but I’m pleased with how the players fought on the pitch,” stated the 49-year old Romanian. “To be honest, I don’t think it’s fair to compare PAOK with the best teams in the English Premier League, there is a huge difference in all respects. We need to discover our true level and keep developing.
We played a 4-6-0 formation as to prevent Chelsea from having space in the midfield while waiting for opportunities to break on the counterattack. The players rightly left the field with their heads held high. Did the upcoming match against AEK Athens affect my team selection? Maybe. We all know that the game with AEK is extremely important.”
For his part, Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri was annoyed that his players did not kill the game as a contest earlier: “We missed so many opportunities, in the future we have to start taking advantage of them,” said Sarri. “Nevertheless, I’m happy with the three points which we earned. We were in full control and any team would have had trouble stopping us today, PAOK aren’t to blame for losing. PAOK have very good players, especially Dimitris Pelkas, he’s young and and talented. I hope to qualify for the Europa League Last 32 early so I can rotate the squad even more.”
Attacking midfielder Dimitris Pelkas felt that PAOK could have got back into the match, however he was also looking ahead to facing AEK: “While the score was only 0:1, we had a chance to mount a comeback, but Chelsea were fully concentrated and didn’t give us any opportunities. We couldn’t play at our pace. We learn our lesson and move on to the derby match with AEK.”
Yevhen Khacheridi, PAOK’s experienced Ukrainian centre-back, acknowledges that the Greeks are fighting for second place in Group L: “We’re well aware that Chelsea are the best team in this group and we are competing for second spot. Today, we didn’t fear anything, and the result is on the scoreboard. Chelsea have quality players and they displayed their capabilities.”
by Shaun Nicolaides
Image Source: sport-fm.gr
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