We wanted more
Friday, February 23, 2024
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Shakhtar midfielder Heorhii Sudakov about the match against Marseille and the European campaign, Marino Pusic’s words after the game and tasks for the rest of the season
– Heorhii, let’s talk about this European season: what was it like and what did the team go through?
– I think it was a difficult path. We started poorly, but then we made a good achievement thanks to our team spirit – we got out of a rather tough group of the Champions League and we had a chance to advance to the Europa League Round of 16 until the last moment.
– If we talk specifically about the second match against Marseille and about the showdown with the French in general, what did Shakhtar lack in order to go further?
– It is hard to say. Probably after we conceded the first goal, when they equalised the score, we stopped playing our football, made a lot of simple mistakes and maybe could not mentally adjust to the game and take it under our control. Such mistakes are not forgiven at this level, and it is very difficult to play against such teams when another 70 thousand fans push them forward. So, we can only congratulate Marseille on a well-deserved victory.
– Regarding the fans. Did all this atmosphere in the stadium put pressure on you? And how did you feel when you took the penalty and heard all this booing, how did you prepare?
– Of course, it is not every time you take a penalty when 70,000 people are whistling at you, but I tried to focus on the shot, thought about the corner I would hit, tried not to react to the whistling from the stands.
– Did this fan atmosphere affect the result?
– I think so.
– What did the coach say and what was the overall mood in the dressing room after this defeat?
– Everyone is upset. The coach said that we did a good job throughout the European season, but he is as disappointed as all the players – we wanted more. But he also said that we deservedly did not get the result, because we did not play our football, which we wanted to play and which we should play.
– Since the European Cups are over, what is Shakhtar’s current goal?
– The goals remain unchanged – victory in the Ukrainian League and the Ukrainian Cup.
– I think it was a difficult path. We started poorly, but then we made a good achievement thanks to our team spirit – we got out of a rather tough group of the Champions League and we had a chance to advance to the Europa League Round of 16 until the last moment.
– If we talk specifically about the second match against Marseille and about the showdown with the French in general, what did Shakhtar lack in order to go further?
– It is hard to say. Probably after we conceded the first goal, when they equalised the score, we stopped playing our football, made a lot of simple mistakes and maybe could not mentally adjust to the game and take it under our control. Such mistakes are not forgiven at this level, and it is very difficult to play against such teams when another 70 thousand fans push them forward. So, we can only congratulate Marseille on a well-deserved victory.
– Regarding the fans. Did all this atmosphere in the stadium put pressure on you? And how did you feel when you took the penalty and heard all this booing, how did you prepare?
– Of course, it is not every time you take a penalty when 70,000 people are whistling at you, but I tried to focus on the shot, thought about the corner I would hit, tried not to react to the whistling from the stands.
– Did this fan atmosphere affect the result?
– I think so.
– What did the coach say and what was the overall mood in the dressing room after this defeat?
– Everyone is upset. The coach said that we did a good job throughout the European season, but he is as disappointed as all the players – we wanted more. But he also said that we deservedly did not get the result, because we did not play our football, which we wanted to play and which we should play.
– Since the European Cups are over, what is Shakhtar’s current goal?
– The goals remain unchanged – victory in the Ukrainian League and the Ukrainian Cup.