According to the Dynamo coach, the team really lacked Sidorchuk in the center of the field
Dynamo head coach Mircea Lucescu commented on the first match of the playoff round Champions League qualification against Benfica (0:2).
– A difficult match for us. We had a few chances to score but didn’t convert them. But I think it makes no sense to compare today’s rivals. Benfica has a multinational team, with four or five Brazilians, two Argentines, a Spaniard, a Greek, a high-level Portuguese, while we, as you saw, have players on the field who were just recently at the Academy, 18-19 years old.
I think if we had Sidorchuk on the field today, in the center of the field, we would not have conceded two goals, his experience would be very useful to us. But we lost him after the match with Sturm… I think it’s not normal that we have already played four matches and were left without a key player due to disqualification, and some teams start their performance in qualifying, as they say, with a clean slate.
As a result, we were left without important players for us, made mistakes and conceded a goal. After that, we dominated the field, had three or four opportunities to score, but then another mistake led to the second conceded goal. After that, it was already hard to hope for a victory, since Benfica has all the players of a very high level.
We spent the second half much more intensively, we could score again, but at the same time the opponents had opportunities to score again. All in all, a very interesting match, for the fans for sure. For me, no, because I believed that we could win this game. We have a second leg ahead of us, where, I hope, the players will show everything they are capable of. And today I congratulate Benfica on their victory.
– You said that Benfica played more aggressively at the beginning of the meeting…
“I was waiting for the referee to do something about it, but there was no yellow card. When seven or eight players attack, lose the ball, we organize a counterattack, which is thwarted by a foul – a high-level European referee is obliged to punish in such situations with a warning. But even then there was no reaction. This is a catastrophe … At the same time, I want to note that the judge did not influence the final result in any way.
– What do you think about possible transfers in Benfica before the second leg?
– It’s not my problem. Take, for example, Roman Yaremchuk. If he played in Dynamo, he would be the best player, and in Benfica he sits as a substitute. This is the difference… In fact, today our team showed good football for the conditions in which the players are.
– A quickly conceded goal made you somehow change the game scheme, tactics for the game?
– As I said, we were forced to release young players on the field. Vanatu and Vivcharenko are 20 years old, Tsarenko is 18. This is too high a level for players who play their first matches for the first team, but they will get good experience. At the moment, we don’t have much choice, primarily in attack… But, I repeat, although we lost, we had a good match, and the players showed their maximum.
How satisfied are you with today’s atmosphere?
— The atmosphere was fantastic. Thanks to everyone who came to the stadium. I hope the audience enjoyed the game.
Dynamo lost to Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League qualification playoffs with a score of 0:2. The meeting took place in Polish Lodz.
The second leg of the team will be held on August 23 in Lisbon. The game starts at 22:00.
Source: Sportarena
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
