Martins: “We played with intelligence and patience”
Olympiacos boss Pedro Martins praised his players for their superb performance at the Karaiskakis Stadium, while Krasnodar coach Sergei Matveev thought that it was an even game even though the Russians were thrashed 4:0.
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A night which will live long in the memory. It was a tactical masterclass from Pedro Martins in Piraeus, as his ruthless Olympiacos side took Krasnodar out of their comfort zone with a cool, calm and calculated performance in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League playoffs. In the first half, Miguel Angel Guerrero opened the scoring with an excellent long-range effort, before substitute Lazar Randjelovic scored twice in the latter stages and Daniel Podence sealed the 4:0 win with a delicious lob. An out-of-sorts Krasnodar, who were horribly outclassed in Greece, require a football miracle to deny Olympiacos a place in the group stages. Olympiacos are yet to concede a single goal in the competition.
Pedro Martins shared his thoughts in the press-conference: “First of all, I want to dedicate this victory to Dimos Meris, who lost his father,” began Martins. “I give him a big hug. Am I now thinking about the group stages? No, Krasnodar scored three goals in Porto, so we have to be careful. We must play with full concentration in Russia during the entire 90 minutes. We’re not going to help Krasnodar by thinking that it’s done and dusted. There is still one game to go.”
“This is the result of our hard work,” continued the Portuguese manager. “All of our players are dedicated to the task. Olympiacos is a very big club, and it’s difficult for any team to play at our stadium. Was this the perfect match? No. Nothing is decided yet. We were smart and patient, managing the opponents’ attacking attempts well. Krasnodar, who are very aggressive, left a lot of gaps in their defence. Good results serve as extra motivation to continue working hard.”
Despite the 4:0 scoreline, Krasnodar coach Sergei Matveev thought that it was an evenly-balanced game at the Karaiskakis Stadium: “It was an even game,” stated Matveev when speaking to the media. “The atmosphere inside the dressing room isn’t a happy one. Olympiacos took advantage of their opportunities. Without Remy Kabella, it was difficult to make any combination plays in the attacking third. When Olympiacos scored their second goal, we had the option to sit back in defence, but we did the opposite. I congratulate Olympiacos with their victory. We will now fully focus on the league.
Do I regret the team which I picked? No. We have a tough schedule at the moment, and this was our best team. Why didn’t we substitute Marcus Berg earlier? That would have been a risk.”
Lazar Randjelovic, who stole the show with two crucial goals in Piraeus, wants Olympiacos to enjoy another wonderful night next week: “I really want to repeat this result in Russia! I am very happy with this result.”
Ex-Panathinaikos hero Marcus Berg, currently on the books of Krasnodar, admitted that his team endured a nightmare: “We feel terrible after this game,” revealed the 33-year-old Swedish striker. “I am embarassed for this performance, this is not our true level. Olympiacos were good, but we allowed them to be better than us. I am really disappointed, we must play better than this. We didn’t control the ball or take advantage of the counterattack opportunities. In the next game, we can’t make any mistakes.”
Olympiacos winger Giorgos Masouras also spoke with the press: “Today, we took a big step towards the group stages. We played with the correct mindset immediately from the first minute, controlling the attacking potential of the opponents. At the same time, we created spaces, chances and achieved a big victory.”
