We were better
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
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Press conference by Paulo Fonseca after winning the Ukrainian Cup
- Good evening. First of all, I want to mention the excellent show: the capacity crowd, the fantastic atmosphere, the fans supporting their teams - a magnificent festival! The opponents respected each other, there were no conflicts and issues. I want to praise the referees - in my opinion, the refereeing was excellent. We deservedly won, because throughout 90 minutes we were better and closer to scoring goals. The first half turned out to be tactical without obvious scoring chances, with Shakhtar proving stronger in every aspect than Dynamo in the second half. I’m confident in the absolute consistency of our victory.
- Please comment on the appearance of Alan Patrick instead of Kovalenko in the starting line-up.
- Viktor played in the last match. We had a day less of rest than our opponents did, so we wanted to refresh the team a bit - it's about the players’ fitness. Plus, Alan has a number of better features for playing Dynamo, who drop deep early. That’s the only reason.
- How are Patrick and Butko?
- We still evaluate Bohdan’s situation; and in the case of Alan, there was a blow. On the field he felt worse, but now everything’s fine.
- Is it important for Shakhtar to defeat Dynamo in the last league round?
- We need to win one more game. We’re facing a tough encounter with Veres. We want to win it, and if this happens, in the last round there will be no such need to win. Tomorrow, we are starting to prepare for the nearest game.
- There are rumours about the English clubs’ interest in you. Have they contacted your agent?
- That's absolutely normal when there’s some interest from other countries. We have been winning here, we had an excellent Champions League campaign. At the moment, I'm fully focussed on Shakhtar. The main thing for us is winning the league title.
- Please comment on the appearance of Alan Patrick instead of Kovalenko in the starting line-up.
- Viktor played in the last match. We had a day less of rest than our opponents did, so we wanted to refresh the team a bit - it's about the players’ fitness. Plus, Alan has a number of better features for playing Dynamo, who drop deep early. That’s the only reason.
- How are Patrick and Butko?
- We still evaluate Bohdan’s situation; and in the case of Alan, there was a blow. On the field he felt worse, but now everything’s fine.
- Is it important for Shakhtar to defeat Dynamo in the last league round?
- We need to win one more game. We’re facing a tough encounter with Veres. We want to win it, and if this happens, in the last round there will be no such need to win. Tomorrow, we are starting to prepare for the nearest game.
- There are rumours about the English clubs’ interest in you. Have they contacted your agent?
- That's absolutely normal when there’s some interest from other countries. We have been winning here, we had an excellent Champions League campaign. At the moment, I'm fully focussed on Shakhtar. The main thing for us is winning the league title.