Shakhtar drew 0:0 with Bologna in the opening match of the Champions League group stage
Head coach Shakhtar Marino Pusic gave a press conference after the away match against Bologna (0:0) in the opening round of the group stage Champions League.
“Did Shakhtar gain one point or lose three? Of course, it all depends on how you look at the course of events in this match. You saw for yourself that the pitch was very uncomfortable for playing, we could not fully demonstrate our qualities on such a lawn. Nevertheless, as for our approach to the game, our strategy, which we followed from the beginning of the match, I think we worked hard – especially in finding free zones.”
“And if we evaluate the match from the point of view of who won more, then I think it’s a tough one point that both teams won. So both teams can be happy. It was a tough game for us, and I tend to think that this is one point that we deserved, it goes more into our piggy bank of positive results.”
“Did the referee judge the episode of Skorupski’s collision with Sikan correctly? In fact, I did not see what happened there. I saw the end of the episode, when Sikan was lying on the grass, but not the collision itself. If we consider this from the general course of events in the match, we lost one player, then Konoplya was immediately out, and we also had to replace him. So by the 45th minute we were forced to use two slots for substitutions, and considering the penalty that had not yet been converted in the first minutes, of course, this dealt a blow to the team and affected the course of events, so we had to look for additional moral resources in ourselves to get out of the situation.”
“If we evaluate the referee’s decision separately, I see it this way: we are left without an important player, are forced to use a substitute, and the opposing team does not receive any punishment – in my opinion, this is not entirely correct, if we are guided by the rules of football and the current regulations. However, as far as the foul is concerned, I cannot say anything, because I did not have time to analyze the episode, perhaps there was a serious violation, perhaps just a small game collision, which, unfortunately, did not end very well for Daniil. As for Sikan, tomorrow we will see in more detail what exactly he broke – maybe his nose, maybe some other part of his face. But I can assure you that this collision will not make him more handsome.”
Let us recall that at the start of the match Shakhtar was awarded a penalty, but Georgiy Sudakov was unable to beat Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.
Gornyaks centre-back Nikolai Matvienko was named the best player of the Bologna-Shakhtar match.
In the second round of the Champions League, Shakhtar will play against Atalanta on October 2. Let us recall that Shakhtar will hold its home matches of the 2024/25 Champions League in Gelsenkirchen. Marino Pusic’s team will host their opponents at the Veltins Arena. Last season, Shakhtar’s home European arena was the Volksparkstadion in another German city, Hamburg.
Marino Pusic’s team will play their next match in the UPL on September 23 against Obolon.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ben Stock and I work in Athletistic as an author. My specialty is covering football news and other related topics. I have been writing for this website since the past 2 years, crafting compelling stories with the latest updates in the sports world. My articles have gained widespread appreciation amongst readers due to their accuracy and depth of research.
