Almeida: “We had to win and we won”

In detail, what he said at the press conference:

For the match, even if he was troubled by the 5-4-1 of Levadeakios with the second defense zone: “Regarding the game, we knew about the opponent that they will come and wait. That they would try to counter-attack and at times during the first half we found the right way and at other times we didn’t. Overall it was a good game. When they were down to 10 the game got weird. We weren’t clear on what we wanted to do. Then we “locked” the game.”

For the image of AEK, even if there was slackness in the second half: “It is true that the function of the group was not the same. The result, yes it was the same. But it does not mean that a team stays with 10, the game will be easier. We were 2-0 up, we wanted to finish some phases properly. Sometimes we got it right. But we risked several times trying to pass the ball where there were many feet. We could change the game. Overall, however, the game went well. We had to win and we did. You can always improve.”

For penalties, even if there is an instruction, who will take them or the players decide: “Soccer players train on penalties almost every day. The penalty taker was out. It’s either Garcia or Amrabad. There was no one on the field at the time. Zuber took the blame, he couldn’t put the ball in, but for me the important thing is who wants to get the ball. We may have ideas, but the players have freedom on the pitch, whoever feels free to execute it.”