Shakhtar’s coach called the match with the Bergamasques a “battle of tactics”
Head coach Shakhtar Marino Pusic shared his expectations, including tactical ones, from the upcoming match against Atalanta in the second round Champions League.
“This is the winner of the UEFA Europa League, this is a very strong team – one of the best in Europe according to last season’s performance, and demonstrates this on the European stage, at the level of the Champions League. Of course, he has a specific style of play – he puts a lot of pressure on certain areas of the field. We all know how an opponent puts pressure on their opponents, forcing them to put in maximum effort. We know their strengths, but we also know their weaknesses. And I can say that this will be a very serious game. Every game against Atalanta is not easy. But we are here precisely to play such matches with such opponents. This game will require a lot of things from us, but we are willing to give a lot to do well in this tournament. I think tomorrow’s match will be interesting.”
“If we talk about conclusions from the match with Bologna, we approached the match quite well: we played away and got a draw, they had chances, but we also had moments. I think we played well there. Of course, we made certain conclusions after that game, but we understand that Atalanta will play slightly different football. We will be required to put a lot of effort into different aspects of the game. They know us, we know them, so it will be quite interesting. They know that we are trying to build our game from deep, I know that they will press high. This will be a battle of tactics. This is not the kind of opponent we play against in the UPL: most matches we play with slightly different teams, so they require slightly different qualities from us there. But it will be a great experience for us, and we will also take into account our experience from the match with Bologna.”
“I hope that local fans will create a homely atmosphere for us, a feeling of a home arena – that we are playing in our own stadium. Of course, this sounds quite crazy, because obviously we are the only team in the world at this level that never plays home matches at home. Every game for us is away. But I want to say once again to the people in Germany, in Gelsenkirchen, to the Schalke fans who will come to support us and give us a certain boost: we will be very grateful if they accept us as a home team.”
“We think about the war every day, even when we are not at home, and it is very difficult. But we are still athletes, so we will try to enjoy the game and try to give the people who watch our matches in Ukraine extraordinary emotions, especially child fans. You know that this is quite difficult now. But there is a game that is always nearby, which can help people get good emotions and feel better for all Ukrainian fans. Therefore, we will try to do this tomorrow – for our fans, for our club, for our country. And we will try to present ourselves as best as possible in Europe – this is important not only for the club, but for the whole country. And even under such difficult circumstances in which we work, we try to show our skills.”
The match of the second round of the Champions League between Miners and Bergamasque is scheduled for Wednesday, October 2. The meeting starts at 19:45 Kyiv time. The match will be judged by a team of referees led by Portuguese João Pinheiro.
Yesterday, Shakhtar announced its application for the match with Atalanta. The coaching staff took 27 players to the match in Germany. Forward Daniil Sikan, who continues to recover from an injury, was not included in Gornyakov’s lineup.
Nominally, the “home” match for the Miners will take place in Gelsenkirchen. Marino Pusic’s team will host their opponents at the Veltins Arena this season.
Let us remind you that in the first round, Marino Pusic’s team lost with Bologna (0:0), and Atalanta achieved a similar result in the home match with Arsenal.
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.
