Ferencváros bid farewell to the Greek side Olimpiakos with a double defeat in the match for reaching the round of 16 of the football Conference League, as they lost 1-0 in the second leg at home on Thursday in the same way as last week in Piraeus.
The winning goal for the guests was scored again this time by Ajub el-Kabi from Morocco, who scored from the 11th in the 45th minute.
Head coach Dejan Stankovic admitted that Olimpiakosz played better than Ferencváros, so with two 1-0 victories, they deservedly advanced from the match for the round of 16 in the Football Conference League.
"When we lose a game, we often think that something didn't work, but we don't count on the opponent, who were better than us today, so we have to congratulate ourselves. We didn't know what to do with his aggressive attack"
said the Serbian specialist after the 1-0 defeat.
"The European journey is over for us, we have to learn from it. From here on, the main goal is the championship. Today we remain silent, we grieve, we analyze. We still have 13 games ahead of us, which we must use to be even better next season."
When asked by a journalist, Stankovic explained that he considers Kenan Kodro, who was confirmed in January, and who, like the perennial standout, was replaced this time during the break, as an important and talented player, so the Bosnian striker will surely help the team.
"Olympiakos played better, definitely better. We couldn't deal with their aggressiveness. Our players played football with a lot of will, but in this case banal mistakes often slip in"
Stankovic answered MTI's question about whether Ferencváros's performance had fallen or that of its rival had improved compared to the first act.
"Thank you to the fans for standing by us the whole time. I'm sorry that we didn't succeed in igniting the small fire that they had stoked".
The coach, who won the Champions League as a player, also talked about how he withdraws into himself and gets sad when he fails, but the next day he throws himself into work twice as hard. As he put it, the relegation will certainly not affect him, in fact, it may even give him strength for the weekend derby. He stated that his team will be ready for the rally against Újpest.
"What made the difference in this situation was self-confidence, maybe I managed to instill enough in the players because they played football with a lot of will"
- said the Spanish master of Olympiakos, José Luis Mendilibar, who was appointed last week, who in turn warned the Piraeus fans against excessive arrogance.
"We've only got three games left and everyone's going crazy, but I suggest everyone just go crazy for now."
Mendilibar, who won the Europa League last year with Sevilla in Budapest, also said that Ferencváros's two-forward game did not bother him, because he is a particularly headstrong coach who always sends his team on the field in his own style, regardless of whether the opponent has four or five players. he plays with a defender, one or two strikers.
For the second time in a row, the Hungarian champions experienced the spring season on the international stage, a year ago in the round of 16 of the Europa League, they were eliminated without scoring a goal against the German Bayer Leverkusen with two defeats.
The draw for the Kl quarterfinals will be held on Friday at 1 p.m. in Nyon.
MTI
Front page photo: Kosztasz Fortounisz, Olimpiakosz (b) and Eldar Civic, Ferencváros player, played in the second leg match between Ferencváros TC and Olimpiakosz at the Groupama Arena on February 22, 2024, to reach the round of 16 of the football Conference League.
MTI/Zsolt Czeglédi
