Gennaro Gattuso (OM coach, 3-1 winner of AEK Athens): “In the first half, we played well, despite a few missed pressures. But in second, we made the same mistakes as in Nice. They changed pressing and we made mistakes. We should have played wider. Their goal comes from a failed press on our part, Rongier goes too high and we gave them space. We have to be better at reading the game.
Regarding the atmosphere, even if people say that I am acting like a saint, I tell myself that in the world in which we live, it would be nice to often see again what we saw this evening (Thursday evening). I would like to see more brotherhood, like we saw today. The atmosphere was incredible. When you play in a stadium like that, it pushes you. It’s added value for us and I always remind my players of it.
“I could have given Vitinha more minutes since my arrival but he could have given a little more too”
I am very happy with Vitinha’s match as with that of all my players. I could have given him more minutes since I arrived but he could have given a little more too. He knows what I think of him, that I want to see him train with a smile. With a smile, you play better football. We only have two attackers. It’s hard to imagine a change of system with two strikers, with him and Aubameyang together from the start. »
Matias Almeyda (AEK Athens coach) : “I want to analyze the match more than the refereeing, even if the facts of the game changed the game. I’m keeping the first minutes of the second period, which were very good. OM were not really superior to us and the match was under control. But after the first penalty, the match changed. The second then ended the match. We must continue, congratulate the opponent. We are a team, mistakes happen and affect the whole team. We stay in the race, nothing is done and we are ready to fight.”