Incredible game

– Heorhii, Shakhtar start the second official part of the current season with the victory, which we congratulate you and the team on! Tell us, what are your impressions after the match against Brest?
– Of course, I have only positive emotions. This is a very important win for us. We are still in the game, shall we say. The final with Borussia is left, and we understand that we need only victory. I think we deserved to win with our game. I want to congratulate the team and all the fans – it was an incredible game.

– You took a penalty kick very spectacularly, which is already being written about by all media and actively discussed. Why did you decide to score with a panenka?
– I have not had time to read anything yet. Mister said in an interview last time that next time I will shoot like that. But since before that I did not convert two penalties because the goalkeepers guessed the direction, I decided to try another option. It is, let’s say, another style of penalty kick, why not? Goalkeepers usually jump into the corner, so I thought I could shoot in the middle.

– Did you feel more nervous than usual at that moment before shooting?
– To be honest, every penalty causes some worry, emotions, adds adrenaline. However, in my opinion, it does not matter how you shoot, it all depends only on the quality of execution.

– What did your celebration mean?
– You can see this on Instagram.

– Intriguing. In this case, you will talk about the celebration on Instagram, but Irakli Azarov earned a penalty, and you converted it. Later you celebrated together. Share, what does it mean?
– We watched “Squid Game”, and we watched the second season together as soon as we arrived at the training camp. We agreed that if we scored a goal, we would celebrate just like that. And it just so happened that he earned a penalty, and I converted it, so everything turned out perfectly for this celebration.

– What do you think was the difference between Shakhtar in this match and the team in previous Champions League meetings?
– It is hard to say. I think that now we played a game with character. Mister was preparing us the day before, noting that Brest are a physically very strong team. He emphasised that if we win the struggle, the transition phases and the rebounds, the result will be in our favour. And that is exactly what happened. All the guys gave their best, there are no questions for any of the players. I think this game deserved exactly that result.

– You received another important personal award. Comment on this recognition.
– This is already the third award for me in the Champions League, and of course, it is incredibly nice. As I always say, this is a childhood dream, and childhood dreams must come true. This award inspires me to work even harder and get them in the future.

– What do you expect from the match against Borussia and what goals do you set for yourself?
– It is difficult to talk about specific expectations, because we only need victory. Everyone understands this: both the coaching staff and the fans. We will try to do our best, realising how strong Borussia are in Europe. However, they have a certain crisis now, and everything will depend on our game and preparation. There is a whole week of training cycle, and I think tomorrow we will start thinking about Borussia when we get back to training sessions.