Batagov: It seems to me that with the score 2:2 no one believed that we would beat the English youth team

Central defender Zari Arseniy Batagov back in action – he missed several matches due to injury. It was his precise strike in the 74th minute that brought the Lugansk team the long-awaited victory.

— Arseny, congratulations on your victory. In what ways was Zarya stronger than Obolon?

— As we thought, it was a difficult game for us. We quickly opened the scoring in this match, but soon we were losing. And yet we created many chances near the opponents’ goal and, as a result, turned the tide of the match.

– In the first half, two forwards – Sukhanov and Guerrero – scored two goals each. What can you say about the performance of Panamanian striker Zarya?

— Guerrero is an important figure for us. Almost all attacks are built through it. It is very important for us that he is in optimal shape and helps the team.

— After the first half the score was 2:2. What did Valery Kriventsov talk about during the break?

– We should have won this match. We have good players in the team and we should have won.

— Why didn’t Guerrero shoot from the penalty spot at the end of the meeting?

— Antyukh decided that he could score at that moment.

— The victory over Obolon was only the second this season for the team. What is the reason for such a start for the bronze medalist?

— I wouldn’t like to repeat myself, a lot has been said and written about this. I think we are now moving in the right direction. We won the last three official matches, if we remember the games in the Conference League and the Ukrainian Cup.

— UEFA postponed your meeting with Maccabi by a month due to the war in the country. Is this a plus for your team?

— It’s difficult for me to answer unequivocally. As UEFA decides, then we will play with Maccabi. Maybe next week we could have played better.

— Arseniy, let’s move on to the affairs of the Ukrainian youth team. Most recently you won two victories over Luxembourg and England. You came to the youth team’s location after just healing your injury, right?

– Yes. I only had three training sessions before the match with Luxembourg.

— The victorious match with England will be remembered for a long time by all our fans. How did you manage to snatch victory then?

— We played very well in defense, using the middle block, and pressed well. That’s how we scored the first goal. And then they showed character by scoring the third goal in stoppage time. It seems to me that at that moment no one believed that we would win against the British.

— There is an opinion that in team play the Ukrainian team is stronger than England, but individually their players are stronger than our players. Agree?

— The England team contains very strong players who are worth millions of euros. They work very well with the ball at high speed.