Panathinaikos is set to face Kairat in Almaty as part of Matchday 2 of the Conference League’s League Phase, aiming to get off to a 2-02 to start the campaign and lay a solid foundation for advancing to the quarterfinals.
Jacob Nystrup, speaking at the press conference, discussed Kairat’s momentum and their recent European performances; when asked whether he would rotate the lineup for tomorrow’s game, he answered a question about Ounai and Jagusic, and also discussed how he plans to counter the home team’s attacking play.
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In detail:
On what he knows about Kazakhstan: “This is the second time I’ve played against Kairat in a year. Last year, I faced them in the Champions League qualifiers with Copenhagen. We’ve analyzed this club quite thoroughly. They’ve been doing well in recent months. It won’t be easy for them to win the domestic league, because they’re four points behind the leader with two rounds left in the season. Quite a few players have changed since we last played them. “They have European experience as a team.”
On Copenhagen’s attacking duo and how to stop them: “I think that today, all teams in Europe and Greece have quality players. As you saw with Asteras, who had Bartolo. For example, Edmilson is one such player. We faced him before with Copenhagen as well. We need a defense that’s aggressive and solid to stop them. We have to reach the level of performance we’re capable of.”
On rotation: “We have practice. We’ll see how the players have recovered physically and mentally from the last game. I have a lot of good players. It’s important to maintain stability within the team. Against Asteras, we made three substitutions; maybe we could have made more, maybe not. I need to get to know the players to see how many we can rotate from game to game. Many of them are working hard and deserve to play more. But they’ve all chosen to play for Panathinaikos, and they know there’s competition—and that’s essentially what’s happening.”
Regarding the absences and the goals conceded in the last two matches: “Jagusić and Ounai are out for tomorrow’s game; fortunately, the former won’t be out for long, unlike the Moroccan, whose absence is a huge blow, since he’s one of the team’s best players. We feel bad for him; he didn’t deserve this. He has to fight his way back, and we’ll do everything we can to help him. We did well on Sunday without him, and it’s my job to make sure that happens again. We created a lot of chances in previous matches, and the fans played a part in that—though they won’t be with us tomorrow. We need to play well with the ball tomorrow and create chances. There are always things we can improve on, like not conceding goals.”
On what sets Kairat apart and whether they’re weaker: “What makes Kairat dangerous is the fact that they can play well at home, but also that they’ve changed quite a few players since our last meeting. All teams have their strengths. I always respect our opponents. They’re a team that has gained a lot of European experience in recent months, and we expect them to put up a good fight at home tomorrow.”
*photo source: KYPE
