We played at a very good level
Saturday, July 24, 2021
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Shakhtar head coach Roberto De Zerbi spoke about the first victory, the replaced turf at the Olimpiyskiy, match highlights, converted chanced and the will to win with a bigger score
- In the opening 10 minutes we felt like you were going to demolish them – it was just a laugher. And it all ended, as we say, ‘barely there’. At what point did your players feel in advance that victory was already theirs? Or was it you who misbehaved at some point?
- I believe that we dominated it for 80 minutes. During this period of time, we had to score four, five or even six goals. Unfortunately, we’ve netted just two. Not only in Ukraine, but also in Italy, and in any other country, when at 2-0 you concede a goal and the score gets 2-1, the match becomes nervous, and its ending can turn out any way. But I wouldn’t consider the first 10 minutes as the period when we had total dominance. In this I absolutely disagree with you. I want to stress this: for the first 80 minutes, the opponents practically did not move onto our half of the pitch.
- The opposing coach said that after the substitutions of Pedrinho and Alan Patrick, Shakhtar got weaker, according to him. Do you agree with this?
- Actually, I can agree with you, it’s quite possible. The replacement of those players was caused by their fatigue. But I think that Sudakov and Tete who came on for them, are also good players. They perform at the same level, therefore we can’t say that Shakhtar’s performance got worse in terms of quality.
- What’s the reason behind the substitution of of Vitao? They susally replace a defender towards the end of the game either due to an injury or because of the threat of suspension.
- On Thursday, Korniienko had a high temperature, he did not train that day which affected his fitness. I agree with you, I also don't like changing defenders in the course of the match.
- There are many wingers in the team, one of them is a really renowned footballer Konoplyanka. What about his future in the team? Do you see him in the squad or are you planning to loan him out? And is Ismaily ready to play?
- Konoplyanka was injured for a long period of time. Only recently he started training with us fully, on a par with the rest of players. The same situation is with Ismaily. I couldn’t guarantee that he would’ve appeared in the starting lineup today. But had he been healthy and in his best form, he would certainly have been part of our today's team.
- You said that you had dominated for 80 minutes. What didn’t work in the last 10 minutes? How can you comment on the goal against Shakhtar?
- We conceded a goal which I would call absolutely unnecessary. It often happens that just an episode changes the further course of the match. Had we not conceded that goal, most likely the game would’ve ended in our favour calmly and without unnecessary nervousness. However, we gave more confidence to the opponents who tried to take advantage of that. On the contrary, we were excessively nervous. Once again, I would like to stress that I don’t at all agree with the fact that my team dominated only for the first 10 minutes of the match. We dominated for 80 minutes. Although I give everyone the opportunity to see football the way they want to see it.
- In the end, you made an interesting substitution by sending off the winger Solomon sending on the fourth central midfielder Marcos Antonio. With the central midfielder Heorhii Sudakov beginning to play at Solomon's position. What’s the tactical sense of that substitution?
- I want to correct it a little. Early in his career, Sudakov played on the left wing - this is a completely natural position for him. Marcos Antonio helped us hold the ball and to pass it between the thirds - that's exactly why we fielded him.
- Who of the young players can get more match time, given the busy schedule?
- I would like to remind you that Traore was born in 2001, Solomon and Korniienko were born in 1999, Pedrinho was born in 1998. Sudakov, Mudryk, Tete, Marcos Antonio ... We have many young players. They will have a chance to show themselves.
- The question concerned Bondarenko, Konoplia, Mudryk.
- Bondarenko, Konoplia and Mudryk are football players who I really like. I’m sure that during the league season they will have the opportunity to prove themselves. I consider those who took the field today to be better prepared for a place in the starting XI at the moment.
- Today you played on the pitch which was renewed by the efforts of FC Shakhtar. Is there any feedback from the players - how comfortable do they find this pitch?
- The field and the stadium are fantastic! I hope to claim lots of wins here and play many good matches.
- You came to Ukraine where they love to use Catenaccio against Shakhtar. How interesting will it be for you to play against the likes of today’s opponents? There are many of them in Ukraine.
- Any match is difficult to win. I wouldn’t say that the problem is that they play against us in a defensive manner, because even in this kind of game we had many opportunities to score. And we had to score those goals. If, for example, Shakhtar had won 6-0 or 7-0 by the 80th minute, I think no one would’ve been surprised by that kind of score.
- Today, three newcomers made their debuts for Shakhtar in competitive games. How is their adaptation in the team going?
- I’m really happy with those players, but I wouldn’t like to single out anyone because the whole team played at a very good level. And I will say one more obvious thing. We all know that Dynamo won the league title last season, and we were runners-up. We start this league season as the team who need to change the situation and win. We start from the second spot to win the league title. First of all, we need to work mentally for the players to have that ‘killer instinct’, so that they would leave their opponents with no chance, better converting their opportunities and winning with a bigger score.
- I believe that we dominated it for 80 minutes. During this period of time, we had to score four, five or even six goals. Unfortunately, we’ve netted just two. Not only in Ukraine, but also in Italy, and in any other country, when at 2-0 you concede a goal and the score gets 2-1, the match becomes nervous, and its ending can turn out any way. But I wouldn’t consider the first 10 minutes as the period when we had total dominance. In this I absolutely disagree with you. I want to stress this: for the first 80 minutes, the opponents practically did not move onto our half of the pitch.
- The opposing coach said that after the substitutions of Pedrinho and Alan Patrick, Shakhtar got weaker, according to him. Do you agree with this?
- Actually, I can agree with you, it’s quite possible. The replacement of those players was caused by their fatigue. But I think that Sudakov and Tete who came on for them, are also good players. They perform at the same level, therefore we can’t say that Shakhtar’s performance got worse in terms of quality.
- What’s the reason behind the substitution of of Vitao? They susally replace a defender towards the end of the game either due to an injury or because of the threat of suspension.
- On Thursday, Korniienko had a high temperature, he did not train that day which affected his fitness. I agree with you, I also don't like changing defenders in the course of the match.
- There are many wingers in the team, one of them is a really renowned footballer Konoplyanka. What about his future in the team? Do you see him in the squad or are you planning to loan him out? And is Ismaily ready to play?
- Konoplyanka was injured for a long period of time. Only recently he started training with us fully, on a par with the rest of players. The same situation is with Ismaily. I couldn’t guarantee that he would’ve appeared in the starting lineup today. But had he been healthy and in his best form, he would certainly have been part of our today's team.
- You said that you had dominated for 80 minutes. What didn’t work in the last 10 minutes? How can you comment on the goal against Shakhtar?
- We conceded a goal which I would call absolutely unnecessary. It often happens that just an episode changes the further course of the match. Had we not conceded that goal, most likely the game would’ve ended in our favour calmly and without unnecessary nervousness. However, we gave more confidence to the opponents who tried to take advantage of that. On the contrary, we were excessively nervous. Once again, I would like to stress that I don’t at all agree with the fact that my team dominated only for the first 10 minutes of the match. We dominated for 80 minutes. Although I give everyone the opportunity to see football the way they want to see it.
- In the end, you made an interesting substitution by sending off the winger Solomon sending on the fourth central midfielder Marcos Antonio. With the central midfielder Heorhii Sudakov beginning to play at Solomon's position. What’s the tactical sense of that substitution?
- I want to correct it a little. Early in his career, Sudakov played on the left wing - this is a completely natural position for him. Marcos Antonio helped us hold the ball and to pass it between the thirds - that's exactly why we fielded him.
- Who of the young players can get more match time, given the busy schedule?
- I would like to remind you that Traore was born in 2001, Solomon and Korniienko were born in 1999, Pedrinho was born in 1998. Sudakov, Mudryk, Tete, Marcos Antonio ... We have many young players. They will have a chance to show themselves.
- The question concerned Bondarenko, Konoplia, Mudryk.
- Bondarenko, Konoplia and Mudryk are football players who I really like. I’m sure that during the league season they will have the opportunity to prove themselves. I consider those who took the field today to be better prepared for a place in the starting XI at the moment.
- Today you played on the pitch which was renewed by the efforts of FC Shakhtar. Is there any feedback from the players - how comfortable do they find this pitch?
- The field and the stadium are fantastic! I hope to claim lots of wins here and play many good matches.
- You came to Ukraine where they love to use Catenaccio against Shakhtar. How interesting will it be for you to play against the likes of today’s opponents? There are many of them in Ukraine.
- Any match is difficult to win. I wouldn’t say that the problem is that they play against us in a defensive manner, because even in this kind of game we had many opportunities to score. And we had to score those goals. If, for example, Shakhtar had won 6-0 or 7-0 by the 80th minute, I think no one would’ve been surprised by that kind of score.
- Today, three newcomers made their debuts for Shakhtar in competitive games. How is their adaptation in the team going?
- I’m really happy with those players, but I wouldn’t like to single out anyone because the whole team played at a very good level. And I will say one more obvious thing. We all know that Dynamo won the league title last season, and we were runners-up. We start this league season as the team who need to change the situation and win. We start from the second spot to win the league title. First of all, we need to work mentally for the players to have that ‘killer instinct’, so that they would leave their opponents with no chance, better converting their opportunities and winning with a bigger score.