Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Marino Pušić commented on his side's 3-5 defeat to Portuguese side Porto in yesterday's away match of the Champions League group stage 6.
Marino Pušić"Yes, unfortunately, we lost, and the reason is very simple - Porto scored five goals, and we only scored three. For an away match, that's a lot, but it wasn't enough.
"Porto is a very good team, as I said, a team that is difficult to play against, that plays at a high tempo, very adventurous. The opponent started well, we fought back well. We dominated certain parts of the match, but we made two or three unforced errors, which is too many for this level. It was not so easy to get back into the game, but of course we tried to do it all the time, especially in the last 25 minutes when the score was 3-2. We replaced our attacking players, wanted to win back the game, but then we conceded again.
I have to say that the level of the opponent also played a role, because that's their style, we were preparing for it. In fact, everything happened as we discussed, but in a negative way for us.
To be honest, sometimes it's strange to be proud of the team after a defeat, because we really came here to compete and play, and I think we have something to offer the audience - quality football with a very worthy opponent. So my players did their best, they fought to the end, the last 25 minutes were probably played one-on-one, with only three defenders, we put all the strikers in the line. We really did everything, but the opponent did everything. So I am proud of our team, a very young team. These matches are important for the learning process of young players, because that's the only way you can get this experience, and we did it.
We had a very tough group, we got nine points, which is a great achievement, playing good football. I can only say that I am very pleased with the efforts of my players, the way they have developed individually and the way the team has progressed in the last two months. We have achieved a very important goal for the club and we remain in a great tournament - the Europa League," said Pušić at a press conference after the match against Porto.
