Dynamo - Benfica - 0:2. Post-match press conference. Lucescu: "I believed we could win this match"

On Wednesday, August 17, in the first match of the playoffs of the Champions League qualifying round, Dynamo Kyiv lost 0:2 to Benfica Lisbon. 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.

— 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, had players on the field who were just 18-19 years old at the Academy .

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 the qualification, as they say, from scratch .

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 goal conceded. 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 opponent had opportunities to score again. In general, 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 the 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 here there was no reaction. This is a disaster... At the same time, I want to note that the judge did not in any way affect the final result.

— 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, both for the conditions in which the players are.

- Did a quick goal conceded make 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 main 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.