The Pitmen’s defender speaks about the best players of the meeting between Shakhtar and Oleksandriya
Shakhtar’s 20-year-old central defender Eduard Kozik came on as a substitute in the home game against Oleksandriya. For the young football player, the match of the third round of the Ukrainian Championship-2023/2024 was only the fifth match in the UPL.
— Eduard, why, after a good first half, the Pitmen’s game in the second half became completely different. Why did it happen?
– Yes, we also started a meeting with Metalist 1925. Although, then we, maybe, created fewer moments. Today? Alexandria played quite well against us. They had the ball for a long time. And in this heat, it matters. It is always difficult to select balls in the wild heat. But we converted our chances in the opening of the meeting and won in this match. It is important that we have earned three points.
— Who, in your opinion, is Shakhtar’s best player in this meeting?
— Gergi Gocholeishvili. He has two assists to his credit.
– What task did Patrick van Leeuwun set when he let you out on the field?
– Play well defensively.
— Why were all set pieces at the Donetsk goal so dangerous?
“Maybe they didn’t occupy their positions in the defense quite correctly.
— Dmitry Riznyk saved Shakhtar at the end of the match?
Yes, he is the lion of the match. All the guys thanked him in the locker room.
– It’s about a month before Shakhtar’s first match in the Champions League. Ahead are rivals at the level of Manchester City, Real Madrid, Milan, PSG, Bayern…
We understand that there is concern. But there is time for quality preparation.
– In this game, Shakhtar’s mentor could not count on Rakitskiy, Kornienko, Stepanenko, Sudakov and Bondarenko. Did it greatly weaken the team?
– Certainly. These guys have been helping the team to achieve success for many years. They have experience, they can both prompt and shout. They are missing.
– Have you managed to become your own in the first team of the club?
– I played only the second match in this championship. Everything in our team is great. Senior players help me. Now playing practice is important for me.
Source: Sportarena
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