The head coach of the Donetsk team named the main reasons for the poor performance of his players against Atalanta.
Shakhtar’s game against Atalanta could have been different if the Ukrainian champions had realized their chances in the first 20 minutes of the game. That’s what Pitmen head coach Marino Pusic thinks.
The specialist also believes that the overall statistical advantage on the side of the Italian club does not reflect the true picture of what is happening on the field.
“Statistics don’t tell the whole story. Of course, if you only look at that part it might be true, but that doesn’t really tell me anything. You also have to consider how much you do on the field and how much times you create promising situations to do something And I don’t think I will ever go back to the game against Bologna, because we performed quite well then, we drew with a very strong opponent The characteristics of game, they are physically very strong and experienced, but we couldn’t create better situations in the second half than in the first half, so the statistics don’t tell the story of the game.
Hemp has had a great moment. It is known what happens to a team when you score against a strong opponent – you get new energy. Again, it’s a game and it’s just a goal. But, unfortunately, the difference in level is noticeable. We missed our chance and our opponents scored 30 seconds later. They punish every situation we allow them to face. Everything can change, it was a chance for us to change the game, unfortunately we didn’t score.
You have to know that it is very difficult to compete against a team with amazing players, their specific style of one-on-one play, and strong physical attributes. We really tried everything: short attacks with some combinations, long attacks, create some situations. I can’t blame my team for anything. We really tried everything, but like I said, there’s a difference in some physical indicators when you can’t respond consistently. So, it’s like a visit to the dentist. It is very difficult to play against them. We weren’t the only ones who felt that way that night. You will remember Bayer’s experience in the Europa League final, even Real Madrid had a hard time with them in the Super Cup. So we have to be realistic as a team, and we are. That night we tried everything, we also tried to play. In the second half we handled the ball well and we started the first 20 minutes of the first half well. It was quite a lot for us, to be honest. This enemy is too big and good for us.
Against Atalanta, we know that if you play as usual you will have fewer chances, so we tried to surprise them with some actions in the midfield. We tried to take advantage of the gap in their last line. As I said, it worked well in the first 20 minutes: there were some good moments, but we weren’t aggressive enough to take advantage of those situations. Therefore, that was the idea of the first half. In the second, we made some individual changes and still tried to play at the same level, maybe adding more individual players who could do something one-on-one. However, when you concede a goal against such a team on a regular basis, it is very difficult to come back. And, unfortunately, we got such a goal, although in the first half we created promising situations many times thanks to Marlon and Kryskiv. Therefore, the idea was this, and I believe we made an attack and tried to play. I repeat: it was very difficult to play against Atalanta, so we did everything in the first half, we did everything in the second half, but it was not enough against such an opponent.
Everyone knows the situation in our country and in fact we always play in almost empty stadiums, so this is a huge difference. And for us to play in front of so many people is really an event. I really like it. This is real football – you play for the people. And the atmosphere is also very nice. Maybe more people could come later in the evening, that could be, but we are still pleased with the number of spectators in the stadium and grateful for their support,” Shakhtar’s website quoted Pusic as saying.
We remind you that Shakhtar lost to Italian Atalanta in the second round of the Champions League.
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Source: korrespondent
I am William Jackson and I have a passion for sports journalism. With over 3 years of experience in the industry, I have worked in a variety of roles to improve the quality and accuracy of sports news coverage. As an author at Athletistic, I specialize in covering football news and providing comprehensive analysis for fans around the world.
