Martins: “You cannot make these mistakes”
Following the crucial defeat to Tottenham on the road in the UEFA Champions League, Olympiacos head coach Pedro Martins bemoaned the mistakes.
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Olympiacos threatened to cause a major shock in the Champions League. Making a blistering start, two quick goals from Youssef El Arabi and Ruben Semedo gave the Greeks a stunning 2-0 lead in London, before Yassine Meriah almost made it three with a powerful strike. However, Meriah turned the game on its head on the brink of half time, committing a dreadful mistake which allowed Dele Alli to tap into the gaping net. On the back foot, Olympiacos contrived to fall away in the second half, as goals from Harry Kane and Serge Aurier sealed a 4-2 win for Tottenham. Olympiacos remain rock bottom of Group B with one point from five games, while Tottenham join Bayern Munich in the Round of 16.
Olympiacos will play for a place in the UEFA Europa League on matchday six against Red Star Belgrade in Piraeus.
“You cannot make these mistakes in this competition,” stated a deflated Pedro Martins. “Did Yassine Meriah cost the game? Mistakes are affecting his psychology. Avraam Papadopoulos has a small injury issue and Pape Abou Cisse is still out. If we look at the game as a whole, we were prepared to withstand their pressure, but our errors were unacceptable.”
“There will be a positive reaction against PAOK,” revealed Martins when asked about the upcoming Super League derby. “Red Star Belgrade? That game will be a final.”
Olympiacos defender Ruben Semedo, who scored the second Greek goal in London, wants his team to learn from this experience: “We must stop making these mistakes, you pay for them dearly in this tournament. I hope that we will learn from them, and I’m not talking about Meriah individually. Pressure? We’re used to pressure at Olympiacos.”
Youssef El Arabi was disappointed with the end result: “We’re sad about losing, we took a two-goal lead before letting Tottenham back into the game. We now have to think about playing against Red Star Belgrade on matchday six, we must try to qualify for the Europa League.”
“First of all, I want to apologise to Eric Dier,” said newly-appointed Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho, who made his long-awaited Champions League return. “It’s never easy for a player, but it’s not simple for coaches either. I did this for the team. He wasn’t playing badly, but we needed a different solution as we were losing 2-0. I needed a second man next to Dele Alli to come between the Olympiacos defence. Overall, the most important thing is that we qualified for the next round.”
“Olympiacos are a good, well-organised team, they made it difficult for us and they knew that a victory was needed,” continued the Portuguese manager. “They attacked our self-esteem and our confidence. Our players have not had the best results over the past few months. The goal before the end of the first half was very important.”
Dele Alli, the first Tottenham scorer, felt that his goal was compensation for his mistake earlier in the game: “Yes, my goal was important, but the second Olympiacos goal was my fault. We showed great character in this game, the fans were excellent and we’re happy to qualify. There’s no hiding, it was a terrible first half for us, and the manager said that we can only get better. We moved the ball quicker in the second half and we have top-quality players across the pitch. Olympiacos made it tough, they’re a top side.”
“We didn’t start well at all, and we got punished for it,” added prolific Tottenham striker Harry Kane. “At this level, you get punished. Nevertheless, we did well to stay in the game and score just before half time. We played with more freedom in the second half, pressing high and taking advantage of our chances. It was all about winning and qualifying.”
