Olympiakos Coach Takis Lemonis insists it’s “very important” to beat Juventus tomorrow, even though his side can’t qualify.
The Greek side have already been eliminated from the competition, and the Bianconeri will reach the Last 16 with a win, or a draw if Sporting fail to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Despite this appearing be a meaningless game for his side though, the Coach is determined to secure a positive result.
Olympiakos Coach Takis Lemonis insists it’s “very important” to beat Juventus tomorrow, even though his side can’t qualify.
The Greek side have already been eliminated from the competition, and the Bianconeri will reach the Last 16 with a win, or a draw if Sporting fail to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Despite this appearing be a meaningless game for his side though, the Coach is determined to secure a positive result.
“It’s very important, first of all, to play well,” Lemonis said in his pre-match Press conference.
“Certainly scoring two goals in the first game [with Sporting] was very important and I want us to repeat that first game and score tomorrow.
“Every game in the Champions League is very important, even if we can’t qualify in this last game tomorrow.
“For us it’s very important to get three points in front of our fans, against a great opponent. We’ve done well, and even if we didn’t succeed we’ve reached this point.
“As I’ve said, it’s very important to play a beautiful game tomorrow and win three points.
“Clearly we’re in a bit of an odd position, but first of all there’s the prestige of the game, then there’s the points for our nation in the European coefficient.
“Then of course there’s the league, which we’ll definitely have to switch our attention to, so we can get back into the Champions League. Then there’s the incentive to play well, which is another point.
“Juventus can be beaten, we can win against any team.
“We’ll have a slightly different attitude tomorrow, I’ll change things but I can’t give you any details right now. I’ll definitely change something in the style and philosophy of the game though.
“I’m thinking about what happened with Barcelona, where we caught our opponents a little bit unprepared.”
Lemonis was asked which players he’d take from Juventus for his own team.
“All 11 of course! I’m joking, but I don’t think I could choose a single player. Juventus are a very good group, a very good team and I think tomorrow they’ll come with an attacking attitude to secure qualification.
“They definitely won’t leave it to be decided by the other game.”