Pusic: I can’t blame my team for anything. Atalanta was too skilled for us

Head coach Shakhtar Marino Pusic commented on his team’s defeat in the second round match Champions League against Atalanta (0:3).

“One shot on target in the matches with Bologna and Atalanta? Statistics don’t tell the whole story. Of course, if you only look at this part, it might be true, but it doesn’t really tell me anything. You also have to consider how much you do on the field and how many times you create promising situations to do something. And I think that I will not look back at the game against Bologna, because we performed quite well then, we drew with also a very strong opponent. But today was a very difficult fight. We were up against a team that, for me, is one of the best in Europe in terms of the way they play. This is a physically very strong and experienced team.”

“However, I believe that in the first 20 minutes we had several promising situations to do more than we could. We tried to score. You have to score if you want to win. But we couldn’t. There were many more better and more promising situations in the second half than in the first half, so statistics don’t tell the story of the game. I think we could have done more in those situations, but we didn’t.”

“We must remember that it is very difficult to oppose a team with such amazing players, their specific style of one-on-one play, and strong physical qualities. We really tried everything: short attacks with some combinations, long attacks, created several situations. I can’t blame my team for anything. We really tried everything, but as I said, there is a difference in some physical indicators when you cannot respond consistently. Yes, it was like a visit to the dentist. It’s very difficult to play against them. We weren’t the only ones who felt it that evening. You can remember Bayer’s experience in the Europa League final, even Real Madrid had difficulties with them in the Super Cup. So we have to be realistic as a team, and we are. That evening we tried everything, we also tried to play. In the second half we handled the ball well and started the first 20 minutes of the first half well. It was a bit much for us, to be frank. This opponent was too big and skilled for us.”

“Personnel changes in today’s match? Yes, playing against Atalanta, we knew that if you act as usual, you will have even less chances, so we tried to surprise them with certain actions in midfield. We tried to exploit the space on their last line. As I said, it worked quite well for the first 20 minutes: there were a few promising moments, but we weren’t aggressive enough to take advantage of those situations. Therefore, that was the idea in the first half.”

“In the second, we made some individual changes and still tried to play at the same level, perhaps adding more individual players who can do something one-on-one. And yet, when you miss a goal against such a team from a set piece, it is very difficult to come back. And, unfortunately, we got such a goal, although in the first half we created promising situations several times thanks to Marlon and Kryskiv. Therefore, the idea was this, and I believe that we built an attack and tried to play. “I repeat: it’s very difficult to play against Atalanta, so we did everything in the first half, we did everything in the second half, but it just wasn’t enough against such an opponent.”

Shakhtar has one point in its asset after two opening matches of the Champions League. Let us remind you that in the first round, Marino Pusic’s team played a draw away against Bologna (0:0).

Shakhtar will play its next match in the Champions League on October 22 away against Arsenal.

Before the international break for national team matches, the Miners will have one more match – on October 6 they will host LNZ.