Punishment optional: Shovkovskiy reviews defeat against Roma

The Dynamo coach summed up the results of another losing match in the Europa League.

Dynamo head coach Alexander Shovkovsky spoke about the defeat from Roma in the away match in the third round of the main stage of the Europa League.

“White-Blues” lost a little to the Romans after a penalty goal, converted by Artem Dovbik.

“We fully understood what a strong team we were fighting and how this team prepared its attacks, so first of all we tried to do everything possible to limit the space between the lines and not allow the opponent to score quickly an unfortunate penalty, which, I think was unnecessary, and we did not get the ball Although, apart from this and long-range shots, in my opinion, Roma did not create anything in the first half , with the speed in the counterattacks, and create some opportunities that could be positive for us, but, unfortunately, we did not implement them and in the episode when they scored, our player found himself in an offside position.

In the second half, we wanted to change the pattern of the game a little bit, but we understood very well what kind of opponent we were playing. Although after the break we had a lot of good chances that we could have finished more successfully. Although at the same time they may have missed the second goal.

I don’t divide the team into attack and defense. We have a team that builds its defensive lines and plays in attack. Now in attack we lacked a bit of aggressiveness, especially at the beginning of the game. We give credit to Roma, who play in Serie A and have a big budget. We are no longer able to attract foreign players to the level we would like. The foreigners who were with us then, when they heard the first explosions and shots, immediately asked to leave for rent.

Roma played as expected, used the flanks, tried to quickly change the direction of attacks, create a numerical advantage and use the characteristics of their players, who work well on the ball and combine well. We understood that they were trying to push us into our half of the field with a large group of players to apply active pressure. So we used long passes and our fast players up front. I can’t say that Roma surprised us too much, but they are a very strong team that always fights for the top spot in one of the best championships.

I know Dovbik’s qualities very well, because I worked with the coaching staff of the Ukrainian national team, especially during Euro 2020, so I understand his strengths very well. I think this is a high-level player who gives Roma attacking depth, can hold on to balls and force a fight in the penalty area. His individual strengths include kicking and wrestling. I believe that such players make football great. I’m happy for him, speaking personally. I would be pleased if we have such a forward,” Dynamo’s official website quoted Shovkovsky as saying.

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