Diego Alonso for Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos will be hosted tomorrow (22/08/24, 22:00, live by Newsit.gr) by Lens in the Conference League playoffs and Diego Alonso spoke about the match, but also about the transfer of Facundo Pellistri.

The Panathinaikos coach even revealed that Facundo Pellistri is already with the team in France and left the possibility of him playing “open” in the matches against Lens in the Conference League.

Diego Alonso’s statements

“What happened on Sunday was disappointing for us. It must not happen again. What happened has happened. What happened is a lesson we must learn to improve. Tomorrow’s game is very important. Whether the draw could be easier is no excuse. We have to look worthy of the level of our opponent.”

«The team structure is similar. In terms of strength, Lens are a team with great intensity. Of course, Fotis also said that Ajax have great quality. But let’s not forget that when attacking, Lens play very vertically and attack with many players. If that’s the case, we have to take advantage of the spaces they leave. However, in order to do that, we have to be able to reach the opponent’s goal. That’s the challenge».

On whether anything changes against Lens regarding Amsterdam: “The aim is not to change. We will play against our opponent equally and we will look to be champions and control the game. As I said before the game against Ajax, it depends a lot on what the opponent offers you. Of course this is a power game, because the opponent also presses a lot. We will also have pressure when we are asked to attack the opponent. We will play in the same way as we did against Ajax.”

On the feeling he gave in the second match against Ajax: “Passion is about the way you experience the game. I’m not just a coach because I love football, but because I have passion for what I do, which is my job. When I work for a team, I also look to represent their fans. We don’t just represent the club, we represent the fans. The fans don’t just want the team to win, they want to give 100 per cent. That’s why the fans applauded us in both games against Ajax. “That’s why after the second game, we dedicated this game to our fans. Now if you ask me if passion plays a part in doing the job right, it does 100 per cent.”

Regarding Pellistri’s transfer and whether he will be on the list for these two matches: “Regarding the first leg, Pellistri is here. To see if we can use him tomorrow or in the next game, I had a conversation with him. He became fit while he was at United because he had more rest due to the Copa America. You realise that the working periods there are different compared to here. We have to adjust him as best we can. As we did with Tite, I will ask for patience so that his adaptation is as good as possible.”