On Thursday, October 13, in the match of the 4th round of the Europa League group stage, Dynamo Kyiv lost to the French Rennes with a score of 0:1. The duel was nominally home for the people of Kiev, but because of the war it took place in Polish Krakow. Your attention is the post-match press conference of the head coaches of the teams.
Mircea LucescuMircea LUCHESCU, Dynamo head coach:
- Why is there no sharpness after the attacks are completed? How can this be corrected on the eve of the match against Shakhtar and the fight for the Conference League?
- I want to say that we played against a very strong team that did a good job in the transfer market. They have 15 players of about the same level worth 20-25 million, and they are worth the money. I am almost sure that this season they will finish the championship in second place behind PSG.
I can only congratulate our team, we need to take into account all the problems that we had to face, as well as a large number of relocations. It lacked not only sharpness, but also freshness and concentration, which led to mistakes. We concede after an out, then after a corner. We lose 0:1, 1:2. Now we have such a schedule that we cannot concentrate normally on training, but must constantly move. I hope that after the Sunday match against Shakhtar on Monday we will return to Kyiv so that the players can spend some time with their families.
I repeat, I want to congratulate my team, because, despite all the difficulties, I think we played the match very well today.
- Despite four defeats, Dynamo still has chances for the Conference League, how worthy is this motivation for your team?
— In our group, the situation is not easy for us. From the very beginning, I assumed that it would be difficult. These four defeats... But, I repeat, we have constant moving, injuries, in particular, Shaparenko, who is sorely missed in the center of the field. Nikolay knew how to make a difference, to deliver the ball forward. As I said, it also lacks freshness and concentration. Sirota played a very good match, but made a mistake - this happens. I hope he continues to progress.
Yes, we suffered four defeats, but we played against rivals such as Rennes, Fenerbahce, who spent a lot of money on the transfer market for quality players. These players are fast, they dribble. Our next game is on Sunday against Shakhtar. Now we will only think about her. We have 7-8 hours ahead of us on the road. The calendar is very complicated, I think it could be done better. Playing in such conditions, it is very difficult to show a good game, but we try to do it. We have two more matches to play in the Europa League group stage, we will do our best to take third place.
Regarding AEK, it should be noted that this is not a weak team, this team has good performers who played in strong championships in Spain, Italy, etc., and are very experienced. We got a fairly serious group, and we will try to squeeze the maximum out of the current situation.
- What is your impression of Neshcheret's game? Obviously, today's game was important for him.
- He played great. He played his last match against Everton. Ruslan did everything that I expected from him and what we agreed on. He played well with his feet, perfectly organized defense. Moved the ball from one side to the other when needed. Ruslan is a smart guy, and he fully completed the installation for the game and acted very well.
- Will the match against Shakhtar take place according to plan in Lviv?
- I saw that Shakhtar stated that they were not going to change the date of the match, although we insisted and asked the Federation, the Premier League and the club to postpone the game at least to Monday or Tuesday. Not only our match, but all the matches of the tour. And from Wednesday, move the games to November 23. We need to see what the situation will be in the cities, because even today there have been hostile attacks. Shakhtar was not in the situation we found ourselves in when we went to cover, when we started bombing Lviv and other cities. Of course, the players feel and experience everything. Therefore, I think it would be much better if, during these couple of days that we are asking, to see what the situation will be, so as not to put the players at risk in any case.
Considering that the Ukrainian national team did not qualify for the World Cup, we could agree with UEFA and FIFA to extend our championship for a week and end the matches not on November 26, but later. This is necessary in order not to play in the current conditions, because it can be very dangerous.
— Today the team had great support in the stands, did you feel it, and what would you like to say to Ukrainian fans?
— I want to thank those fans who came to the match today. I don't know if they were refugees or fans who constantly support us, but a big thank you to everyone. There were more of them than Rennes fans, but still not enough - not like Rennes or Fenerbahce when they play at home. Of course, we would like more spectators to come to cheer for us, because our football players also lack support. I saw how they liked it when the stands supported them, and after the game they came up to thank them. Fans are an additional incentive for our guys, who, despite the defeat, fought today, tried and did the best they could.
Bruno GenesioBruno GENESIO, Rennes head coach:
“The goal was achieved by us twice. We have won and are already definitely finishing at least in second place, which means at least the 1/16 finals of the Europa League. Now we will go to the away match with Fenerbahce to compete for the first place. We are competitors, and besides, they will try to avoid unnecessary matches in February.
I think this victory is quite encouraging for the progress of the team. It was not our best game, but in terms of maturity and solidity it was very interesting. All matches in the Europa League are difficult. Taking this opportunity, I want to express my respect to the Dynamo team, because, given the conditions in which they train, with very long trips, and the circumstances that occur in their homeland, they caused us a lot of problems. We must congratulate them, they played a very good game.
As for us, I think we can play better in attack. In the second half, we had to score the second goal and move to the defense, but we knew how to play reliably, how to stay organized and balanced.
Our defense played solidly and seriously, I really liked it. It was not easy, because the opponent had good players ahead. The average age of our players has been quite low, but Steve Mandanda brings us a lot of peace of mind. It is important to feel this reliability, it was an excellent game in terms of defense and defensive line in general.
Christopher Wu has worked flawlessly since joining us. I have a very efficient medical staff and fitness coaches who do a great job with all the players who have little or no playing time to ensure they are ready when we put them in the squad.
