“Our match against Everton has now become a very big game ahead of us,” said the Hammers defender after his side’s record-breaking 17-match unbeaten European run came to a deafening end in the bubbling cauldron of the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
“We must now spend the next couple of days focusing on our recovery to make sure that we become a winning side again.”
First-half goals from skipper Sotiris Fortounis and Rodinei – with the help of an Angelo Ogbonna deflection – put the Greeks firmly in control in Athens before substitute Lucas Paquetá volleyed home with just three minutes remaining.
But the Brazilian’s unstoppable strike proved too little, too late for David Moyes’ men.
“We’ve known about the atmosphere that we would be facing for a long time and it was exactly what we’d expected,” added the 27-cap German international.
“Their fans are very emotional and we were prepared for that but it also felt good to have our own supporters back behind us again tonight.
“It’s always very special to go away and find the West Ham fans backing us fully, when we come up against opposing crowds like we did this evening. It’s a really great feeling for the whole team.
“It was just that we had some difficulty during the early parts of the game. At first, we couldn’t find our rhythm but we felt better in the second half, when we put more pressure on them and created some late chances of our own.
“It became a tight game in the end but we have to hold our hands up and say ‘congratulations’ to Olympiacos.”
Having made his 45th appearance in Claret and Blue since his £10million transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2022, the 27-year-old is now hoping the Hammers – who still top Group A – can avenge last night’s loss in the return tie at London Stadium on matchday four (November 9, 8pm).
“We saw the Olympiacos’ reaction to their win plus all of their celebrations at the end of the game and we want to be exactly like that when we play them next time,” he said.
“Having gone 17 games without defeat we must now we must start again by going on another long run and that’s exactly what we’re planning to do.”
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