Giorgos Kostis and Ángel López agreed that their teams’ season opener was extremely challenging and that the 3-3 draw between Olympiacos and Nea Salamina is quite satisfactory, given how the match unfolded.
The Cypriot coach highlighted his players’ complacency after taking a 1-0 lead in the first half, while the 43-year-old commented on the penalty kick that brought the opponent back into the game.
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Here’s what was said in detail:
Giorgos Kostis (Olympiacos): “I think we got off to a perfect start. We dominated the opening minutes and executed our game plan. We took the lead, but I think we deserved more goals. Then I think the team got complacent because the players wanted to manage the game. We stopped playing at the pace we’d been playing and conceded two goals. We talked it over in the locker room—we had to respond. We weren’t going to stop until we turned the game around. We managed to do that halfway through. We had chances to completely turn it around and win it. We were playing at home and wanted to start with a win. We deserved the win. We came back from a 3-1 deficit, and if we look at it objectively, I have to be satisfied with the 3-3 draw. We have to learn from our mistakes. We’re a new team; I can’t complain. We’re looking ahead to the next game.”
Ángel López (Nea Salamina): “Every beginning is difficult. The first game of the season was tough. We essentially had eleven new players in our lineup. I’d like to point out that Michael played very little last year due to a serious injury. We may not have started off so well, but then we managed to bounce back. We turned the score around, but then came the penalty that put Olympiacos back in the game. Unfortunately, they equalized at the end. From the start, it was clear that we came here for the win. We didn’t get it, but we took the one point and are already looking ahead to the next game.”
