Former Ukraine player Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi shared his impressions of the Blue and Yellows' clash with the Bundesliga with Komanda1 .
- In my opinion, the Ukrainians deserved to celebrate the victory more. There was a failure in the opening, then we managed to push the game away from our possession and, thanks to well-thought-out counterattacking actions, almost won a sensational victory over a famous opponent. Everything was spoiled by positional mistakes by Matvienko and Sobol in defence at the end of the match. However, overall, the guests made a good impression.
- Yesterday, the Germans were considered the favourites, although they are currently going through a painful process of generational change. Did the underestimation of the Ukrainian national team stand in their way?
- Hardly. The hosts had no problems with motivation, because it was their 1000th anniversary match. Secondly, it took place at a packed stadium in Bremen, which drove the hosts forward. It's just that the Bundestim played yesterday the way the Ukrainians allowed them to.
- In your opinion, did Serhii Rebrov make the right decision by adopting a defensive approach?
- You know, I wouldn't say that the guests came on the pitch just to fight back. It was a very active game from the defence, when high pressure was skilfully used. The Germans were not always ready for such aggressive actions on the part of the guests. Once again, I really liked the game played by Serhii Rebrov's wards, who, with the exception of the debut, clearly followed the coach's instructions.
In particular, I remember that they know how to hold a shot. Having conceded the first goal, they did not panic, but skilfully combined and forced the hosts to think more about defence, scoring, as they say, working goals. It is worth highlighting not only Tsygankov, the author of the double, but also Dovbyk, who was put forward to the forefront of the attack, who not only skilfully clung to the ball, threatening the opponent's goal, but also played along with his partners. I hope that this match will give Artem confidence in his abilities.
- What then prevented the guests from celebrating such a welcome victory over a formidable opponent?
- At the end of the match, they betrayed themselves by giving the initiative to their opponents, and unfortunate positional mistakes by Matvienko and Sobol helped the Germans escape defeat.
- Of course, it was understandable that our guys wanted to please the new manager... Yesterday, in your opinion, was Rebrov's directorial hand, figuratively speaking, already felt?
- Of course, it's a shame that we couldn't keep the two-goal lead. Moreover, it was not achieved by chance, but thanks to well-thought-out actions with a quick transition from defence to attack. In the end, the guests' actions seemed balanced, when each of them clearly knew their manoeuvre. And by and large, it was their own fault for not spoiling the Germans' anniversary.
The only good thing is that this loss of points happened in a friendly match, so it was not so painful. Now we'll see how our team can work on their mistakes. Next up are the calendar matches of the European Championship qualifiers, where we have no right to relax. Of course, if we want to make it to the final part of the tournament.
Vasyl Mikhailov