Martins: “This is a negative result for us”
Following the tense draw against PAOK, Olympiacos manager Pedro Martins expressed his annoyance with VAR, while Abel Ferreira congratulated both teams.
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Tensions were running high at the Karaiskakis Stadium. Managing the game well, PAOK took the lead in the first half as Sverrir Ingi Ingason tapped the ball over the line at point blank range, and they kept Olympiacos at bay at the start of the second stanza. Nevertheless, Mathieu Valbuena eventually equalised from the penalty spot for Olympiacos, who subsequently applied intense pressure on PAOK during the closing stages of the battle. Both teams lead the Super League with 28 points each.
“In any case, this is a negative result for us,” revealed Olympiacos head coach, Pedro Martins. “It was a balanced first half, but we improved as the game progressed. We were clearly superior to the opponents in the second half, we would have been deserving of the victory today. We had to make changes to our plan as the match developed.”
“When the Video Assistant Referee system isn’t managed well, I don’t know what to say,” continued Martins. “The pictures display that it was a foul in the PAOK penalty area during the second half. Nevertheless, we will analyse how we played, the result is not just down to the referee. We treat all games as finals, it’s a very balanced championship and we want to win. Valbuena? We will discover the extent of his injury in the next 24 hours.”
“We did have opportunities to catch Olympiacos on the counter in the second half, but we only created the one chance with Dimitris Pelkas,” said PAOK boss, Abel Ferreira. “I would like to congratulate both teams, especially mine. We know that Olympiacos are very strong on the wings with Daniel Podence. We did really well in the first half, and it was natural for the opponents to push later on as they searched for an equaliser.”
“Before Olympiacos scored their equaliser, we had managed to keep them outside of our penalty area,” stated Ferreira when asked about his tactics in the second half. “After their goal, Olympiacos did press harder, but we must take their quality into account. We did well and have a point to show for our efforts. The referee? I think he did a good job. My squad selections? Zivko Zivkovic and Ingason have earned their spot in the line-up.”
Olympiacos winger Daniel Podence felt that the hosts were a lot stronger than PAOK: “In the games against Panionios and Tottenham, we were only strong in the first half, but we were a lot better than PAOK throughout the entire game. We couldn’t score that second goal. Unfortunately, it seems as though we had two opponents today, because the referee did not have courage to give us what we deserved. This isn’t the first time this has happened. It was an obvious foul against me inside the area, but the referee didn’t give it.”
PAOK centre-back Jose Angel Crespo said that the reigning Greek champions could have achieved more: “We knew that Olympiacos would respond in the second half, but we did have the chance to kill the game. If we analyse the first 70 minutes of the match, we can say that we could have achieved more today. We will continue to fight. Our draws in derbies? We were better than AEK, and we could have scored a second goal in this game. We want to improve.”
“We were the better team,” exclaimed Olympiacos attacker Hillal Soudani when speaking to the media. “I am disappointed that we didn’t emerge victorious, we had the opportunities during the second half. We would have deserved to win. The goals which we are conceding from set pieces? Mistakes are part of football, this is something which we have to accept. We showed character. Regardless of the result, no one would have won the title today.”
Diego Biseswar of PAOK is looking ahead to future duels with Olympiacos: “The season is long, and we will have a chance to play against Olympiacos in Thessaloniki. The playoffs are also ahead of us. Are we worried about our form in derbies? No, we were better than AEK when we played against them in Athens. PAOK, Olympiacos and AEK are the best three teams in the championship, but I don’t think that there is any need to be concerned. I will continue to give 100% on the pitch.”
