Read what Razvan Lucescu said after PAOK’s defeat by Panathinaikos:
On what is missing from PAOK and if this is the easy goal he has said before: “After the cup final I said that everything was done for Panathinaikos to win, this is being done this year to win the title. Taking today’s game into account Sporar’s big chance and Bernard’s goal were actions that made the difference in shaping this result. Panathinaikos was lucky, they have a good mentality, when you defend you have more confidence in the way you play, unlike us who have been attacked since the first game of the season. I would not like to talk about the refereeing, we tried and created chances with different chances on the part of Panathinaikos, we didn’t score and we didn’t manage situations to score. This cost us as it did in the game against AEK at home”.
For the details against PAOK and whether these teams who receive them are more ready: “I wouldn’t want to get into that part, it’s a situation that calls for more talk but you challenge me to talk. There is more protection in the Athens teams, not so much in derbies as in other games. I would love to referee an away derby like Panathinaikos today. It gives you a different confidence when you are protected from yellow cards or flagging. We have a lack of maturity as a group, we can’t handle that, it’s a result of many things. A big gap is created by these situations between the Athens teams and us, if you make a mistake you will pay for it. Today we saw a phase that was canceled for a shoulder offside, I won’t say if it is or not, we can say in the same logic that three Astera players were offside, we conceded a goal and it cost us two points, in Ioannina we were not given a penalty in our favor, we are talking for 4 points. With AEK we had pressure that any mistake would cost us to find ourselves apart from claiming something bigger. This is the situation, I tried to describe it as briefly as possible, the difference of having a more ready team and ripe for championship”.
On Augusto’s different partner in a fourth straight game: “We have three players in this position, there must be rotation, it is Augusto for sure and he will rest if needed. Dandas didn’t have a bad game but it’s normal for his strength to drop, he also had a yellow card, we didn’t want him to receive a red for some late marking. Panathinaikos defended with the absolute motivation of ranking position and the will to get the victory, we managed to bring them down, Schwab’s entry was influential. It might have been completely different if it had been used from the beginning.”.
For the world’s recognition of the effort despite the derby defeat: “Sure we can use it, a recognition that the motivation is not lacking and that we have not given up. We are working with motivation for these games, Panathinaikos and AEK are confident, they will go maybe… even under the grass to win balls. It was also seen today that we do not lack motivation, AEK has radically changed its image in previous years and is in the position it is in now. After the game we lost in Toumba I said it was the easiest game to beat them, still we lost 1-0. We’re sad, I can’t stay here, I want to go out and walk 100 kilometers so I don’t think we’ve lost games the way we’ve lost them.”.
On whether he agrees that the second half was the best of the league and if this gives him confidence going forward: “We faced a good team today, the first half was not bad, we had the potential and the opportunities that we didn’t interpret in the right way like with Augusto, Constantelia, Tyson and Oliveira. We didn’t evaluate them correctly, I remember three big chances in the first half, we could have managed the goal phase we conceded differently. Panathinaikos retreated in the second half, we must not lack motivation, we have the cup final and we are working to win it”.
For Stefanos Tzima and for the fact that he is not used above: “It’s not his moment, it’s a different situation, with Ionikos he went 5-0 with one player less than the opponent, the duels are different. There is a danger in a match like with Panathinaikos, Jima’s time will come. We see Konstantinos who is different in terms of his presence compared to how he started, he wants to take more responsibility, Koulierakis after so many appearances it is normal to drop in his performance, when it is his time to compete it will happen. Let us do what we know best”.
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
