On Thursday, November 3, in the match of the final, 6th round of the Europa League group stage, Dynamo Kyiv lost to Turkish Fenerbahce with a score of 0:2. 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:
- We made two mistakes that allowed Fenerbahce to win this game. In two matches with the Turks, we conceded twice after corners, once after a throw-in, and once again after a defensive error. Nevertheless, Fenerbahce played well today, they are a great team with strong players. They were very motivated, but we played for our honor. Our players showed character on the field. This is a positive thing that I saw in today's match.
- Dynamo can now concentrate on the Ukrainian championship. What task does the team set for itself in the future?
- We started this season very well, having passed Fenerbahce and Sturm in the Champions League qualification. It was already difficult to resist Benfica, because we began to move between Ukraine and Poland twice a week. This had a great impact, because we did not have a permanent place for training and our own stadium. When we started playing simultaneously in the Ukrainian Championship and the Europa League, it became impossible to control the situation.
Now we will return to Ukraine and start playing in the championship in the normal mode, holding home matches in Kyiv. Therefore, there will be no more problems with constant moving. It's a pity that we finished last in the Europa League group. In my opinion, we do not deserve such an outcome. In other circumstances, we could have achieved a more successful result.
Jorge Jesus, Fenerbahce head coach:
- This is a very important moment for Fenerbahce, because we finished in first place in the group and reached the 1/8 finals of the Europa League. This way we won't have to play two extra playoff matches. In general, we went through the group stage undefeated. We are waiting for the opponent in the next round, and we are also concentrating on the next match in the Turkish league.
- Fenerbahce played 12 matches in European competitions, in which they lost only once - to Dynamo Kyiv in the extra time of the Champions League qualification. How can you evaluate the performance of the team during this period?
- Yes, we played the lost match in the minority. As you have already said, apart from this match, we did not lose in any. Fenerbahce have shown an excellent performance in the Europa League, which is also important for Turkey's position in the odds table.
But now our goal is not to win the Europa League. This tournament has other favorites. Our first goal is to become Turkish champions, so we must focus on the next match against Sivasspor.
I would also like to thank our fans, who were even more numerous in Krakow than Dynamo fans.
- At the beginning of the season, you said that you consider Dynamo and Rennes to be the favorites of the group, and on the eve of the last round, you also noticed that Rennes would beat AEK, but the French drew. Was that your strategy to motivate your players?
- I said what I think, it was not some kind of tactic. I really believe that these are strong teams. In the next rounds, even stronger opponents await us. We will do our best to stay in the Europa League as long as possible, but we must be honest with ourselves - we are not the main contenders for victory in this tournament. Much will depend on the opponent that we will get in the next round.
- How do you evaluate the game of young Arda Güler, who scored the first goal today?
- Guler is a very talented player, but still young and needs to develop in terms of physics and tactics. If he progresses, he will undoubtedly form into a very high-quality footballer.
