In his opinion, the Miners are making every effort to progress
Midfielder Shakhtar Artem Bondarenko commented on the outcome of the match with Antwerp (1:0) in the fifth round of the group stage of the Champions League. The Ukrainian emphasized that the game plan included constant control of the ball.
“I’m really very happy to be back on the field. I missed the team, and this month was quite difficult for me: I trained 24 hours a day, did everything to return as quickly as possible. I want to thank everyone who was involved in my recovery, who “fought” with me, who treated me and did everything for me, I really appreciate it and really thank these people who helped me get back.”
“As for the match, we are very happy to win and guarantee ourselves a place in the Europa League, but this is not the maximum goal. We know our next goal and we will go towards it. I hope everything works out. We won despite the fact that the pitch was of poor quality, but we showed character and everything worked out as it should.”
“The plan was to always control the ball and the game. But the field was really very difficult, everyone understood that they shouldn’t take risks again, because beautiful football is beautiful football, and a result is needed. Therefore, in some moments we did not complicate things and played more reliably and simply. Overall, there is a result, so everything is good.”
“We are very grateful that in any country where we play, we are supported. Therefore, we can only once again sincerely thank the fans, we appreciate it.”
Shakhtar is in third place in Group H. The Donetsk club has nine points – the same as Porto, which is ahead of Shakhtar in additional indicators.
The miners guaranteed themselves participation in European competitions in the spring. The final place of Marino Pusic’s team, on which the further tournament (play-offs of the Champions League or Europa League) will depend, will be determined after the last round.
The Donetsk club will play the final match of the group stage of the 2023/24 Champions League with Porto on December 13.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
