Shakhtar’s mentor expressed respect to Mircea Lucescu, who retired after the match
Head coach Shakhtar Marino Pusic commented on the victory over Dynamo (1:0) in the 13th round match Ukrainian Premier League.
“Let’s start with the fact that it’s always nice to win, especially in an important game, in a derby. This means a lot, this is a great result. Regarding Azarov, he received an injury, tomorrow we will see how serious it is and how long it will take to recover, I hope not much. He was replaced by Rakitsky, and Matvienko played on the left flank of defense – they did a good job.”
“We deserved this win: we had the initiative most of the time, played well until the final third of the first half, where we were a little lacking in better safe passes. But in general, when I sum up this match, I can say that the opponent also had opportunities, but we dominated the game due to possession of the ball and good organization. They got two opportunities when we had one player less. It was a bit of a tense situation, but to sum it up, I think we deserved to win and played quite well.”
“Artem Bondarenko is injured. Yesterday we tried to prepare him for this game, but the risk was too great, so we decided not to include him in the starting lineup. We hope he will be out for a short time because he is a very good and important player for us.”
“Mircea Lucescu is the same age as my father, so I have a lot of respect for him and especially his career. How long has he been at the top, and his achievements. When you talk about Lucescu, you can only express respect for him. And today it was his own decision. Of course, this is a personal question, but I can imagine that at this age this is enough. However, I only have one word for this coach, and that is respect. And I must admit that only the best can remain at the highest level for so long.”
Shakhtar achieved a minimal victory thanks to a goal from Alexander Zubkov at the beginning of the second half. The Kiev team suffered their 100th defeat in the UPL.
The match with Shakhtar was the last for Mircea Lucescu as head coach of Dynamo. The coach resigned and announced his retirement from coaching.
Shakhtar ranks third in the UPL with 24 points. In their next match, the Pitmen will play Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League on November 7.
Source: Sportarena
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