Jovanovic: “Many mistakes cost us – We will do everything to qualify”

In his statements at the press conference after Panathinaikos’ home defeat by Rennes, he spoke about the mistakes that cost him and the positive elements that stood out in his team’s game. Ivan Jovanovichwho emphasized that the “greens” will give everything in their three remaining games in order to qualify.

In detail what the coach of Panathinaikos said at the press conference:

On what caused this defeat: “We conceded one goal each at the start of the first half and in the second half. It’s a matter of concentration, but it can happen. We conceded two easy goals which create pressure and stress for us because we have to chase the score. We don’t like defeat, especially at a crucial point against a team that is claiming qualification for the next phase. It’s annoying and at a bad time. When you lose at home it’s embarrassing. We have three games and we will fight for qualification”.

For the fact that the team concedes a goal and why: “We are a team that produces a lot more attacking midfielders. And today in this part we worked well, but in midfield we had issues. I wouldn’t mix today’s game with the previous ones. We made a lot of mistakes when we had the ball. From these mistakes we gave the opportunity to the opponent to create problems. We are a team and mistakes will be made. We should look at past games to correct mistakes. The level has now risen and a mistake can be exploited by the opponent. The main reason for the loss was that we couldn’t get any length in our game. It is one of the games in which we made quite effortless mistakes both in the build up and in general in the organization of the game. Today was one of the games that didn’t suit us. We conceded two easy goals, but I think we gave a great effort. We created several phases and could have scored another goal. In games like this, the result bothers you”.

On the problem in the center of the defense and whether Arao should play as a stopper and Perez as a 6: “Every game is different. Arao is a midfielder, but due to the absence of some players we can put him as a stopper. It is not his main position. As a team with the plan we have, our players will have to do specific things both defensively and offensively. It would be wrong to say that we lost because of the guys who played today in defense. We could do better today. There may be days when not all players play well. We cannot judge a football player by one game. It was one of the games where we could do more things. We didn’t create the right conditions as there were several mistakes in an important part of the pitch. In today’s game the opponent took advantage of some things and led the game to the pace that Rennes wanted”.

On what he holds from the first round of the group and what awaits him next: “In all the games the results were in the details. The team’s presence in a group with good teams leaves me completely satisfied. I say this from the point of view that we had enough time to play in Europe. It satisfies me that both at home and away we are claiming results. If I exclude some parts of the game with Haifa, in the matches with Rennes and Villarreal we were not inferior. We could have gotten a better result today. This satisfies me and this gives us the possibility to claim the results in the next three games to be in Europe in the Spring”.