On Wednesday, August 3, in the first match of the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League, Dynamo Kyiv defeated the Austrian Sturm with a score of 1:0. The meeting was held in Polish Lodz at the LKS stadium. Your attention is the post-match press conference of the head coach of the Ukrainian team Mircea Lucescu.
Mircea LucescuMircea LUCHESCU, Dynamo head coach:
“Sturm started very quickly and tried to create problems for us. But we managed to withstand their pressure and play football while controlling the ball. The opponents defended very well and tightly, so I can say that the match was difficult for us. However, it was also difficult for Sturm.
They are in the best rhythm of the game, they have already started the championship, and we had some problems before the fight, when Tsygankov said that he felt pain, and he had to be urgently replaced in the starting lineup.
In general, I think we deserved this goal, because we created more chances. While "Storm" had only one or two chances at the beginning of the game.
- Which of the three European Cup matches played by Dynamo do you consider the best for the team?
— It is difficult to determine, because Fenerbahce and Sturm differ in their style of play. The Austrians are very well prepared physically, they started the match strongly. They relied on pressure and long passes, but after 10 minutes of play, we understood what was happening on the field and were able to deal with it. Subsequently, "Sturm" went on the defensive in its own half of the field.
Was the match difficult? At this level, all teams are strong opponents and prepare well for the games.
As I said, I think we deserve today's result. It's a pity that we couldn't score the second goal. We had opportunities for this, but we did not find a solution for scoring the completion of attacks.
— What players impressed you today?
- All team. It is important how the whole team plays. After all, one player can perform well today, and another in the next match. Therefore, you need to strive for an organized and disciplined team game.
It is not so easy to control the game in a meeting with a team like Sturm. We watched their matches with Salzburg, Galatasaray, Wolfsberg and had to find a solution on how to resist the pressure.
