Former Dynamo Kyiv coach Jozsef Szabo spoke about Shakhtar's 1-3 defeat to Porto in the opening match of the Champions League.
Jozsef Szabo- "The first half reminded me of Dynamo's games under Lobanovsky - sporting anger, aggression, speed, pressure, which allowed us to achieve an advantage and a result in the first half of the game. Unfortunately, Porto was that team, not Shakhtar. To implement such a tactic, in addition to a high level of player skill, teamwork and speed, it is necessary to have good physical fitness.
"In the first half, Shakhtar shone only once, when they scored an equaliser, while the visitors dominated the rest of the game. After the break, the visitors from Portugal played to the scoreline, allowing Shakhtar to try to rectify the situation. "In my opinion, the Shakhtar need to pay attention to the defensive line first of all. The defenders were nervous, didn't have time to cover their areas, and made mistakes.
I think Leuven is well aware of the reasons for the gaps in the team's performance, and he emphasises physical training, which is important in modern football. Aggressiveness, speed of thinking in the game, pressure, quality of ball possession - that's what the team needs, and this requires a lot of work, and a lot of work in training.
Conflict between players and coach? If the players have any questions or complaints, they should be resolved before the game. Shakhtar's coach and players are a single unit, and together they will be able to rebuild the team game to the modern level, but it will take time. I wish Shakhtar every success and a worthy representation of our country in the Champions League," said Jožef Jožefović.
