Oleg Shelaev: "Lucescu protects his players and that's normal"

The well-known Ukrainian midfielder Oleg Shelaev commented on yesterday's defeat of Dynamo Kyiv in the group stage of the Europa League against the Turkish Fenerbahce (1:2).

— Dynamo recently met with Fenerbahce in the Champions League qualification, knocking out the Turkish team from the most prestigious tournament. Have these games influenced the current fight?

“Of course, all this had an impact. But I would say something else. In the light of the unsuccessful games of Dynamo in the championship of Ukraine, the team has a bad psychological background. All fans of the team were in an anxious state before this meeting. Now the team is in decline - both physical and emotional. Dynamo approached the match in Istanbul with a lot of problems. One of them is the absence of an attacker. Legionnaires will not come to us, and it is difficult to find a good Ukrainian striker. The problem of the forward has been with Dynamo for a long time, for more than a year, but it has not yet been resolved.

— As a result, Mircea Lucescu's wards lost 1:2. What is the reason for the defeat?

- If you analyze the course of the entire fight, then you should recognize the result as natural. The Turkish team played enough to win. It happens that this or that team with a bad game achieves a winning result, but this is rare. Of course, it is hard to accept the fact that Dynamo conceded the decisive goal in stoppage time. This is painfully accepted by everyone.

— Why was Lucescu's speech at the post-match press conference mainly about the rough play of the Fenerbahce players?

- That's his right. He protects his players and this is quite normal. Yes, there was an abundance of fouls in this meeting - 35 for two teams. There is the skill of the players in the attack, and there is the skill in defense. So, this evening the defenders of both teams did not act in the best way.

— But eight yellow cards — is that too much for one game?

— Each referee has his own principles. Ekaterina Monzul, perhaps, would send off a couple of players in such a match. The referee has his own interpretations, the manner of refereeing.

— Both goals were scored by the Turkish team after set pieces — corner and out. This is hard to understand...

- Standards - elements of the game. Dynamo did not play very close to their goal. That happens.

— And Batshuayi scored the winning goal from the goalkeeper's line. Next to him was his partner and none of the Dynamo players. You rarely see this. Who is guilty?

- Everyone makes mistakes. This is the beauty of football. The hosts released three fresh attacking line players in the second half, and the Kievans could not afford it. Fatigue took its toll, I think.

— At Dynamo, Garmash plays in the attack, and defender Kravchenko enters the field instead of him, in the attack line. This has never happened to the metropolitan team.

— Yes, everyone knows about this problem. Everyone knows Besedin's shortcomings, there are many of them. But we also know the arguments of Dynamo leaders. Foreigners do not come to us because of the war, and there are no young people.

— As a result, for the first time in Ukrainian history, Dynamo suffered five defeats in a row in official matches. What's next?

— There are so many problems in our life today that much is not clear to the end. They attacked Ukraine, there is a war going on. We are all going through a difficult moment. If a person is sick, then you will not immediately become healthy - it takes time. So it is in football. Let's see how the club's management and the players get out of this difficult situation.

— In the next round, Dynamo will host the Cypriot AEK. Will this be a decisive game for our club?

- Not. I am sure that the paired matches of the 3rd and 4th rounds will be decisive. Dynamo will fight with Rennes, that's where everything will be decided.