Renowned Ukrainian coach Vyacheslav Grozny assessed Shakhtar Donetsk's chances of playing against French side Marseille in the Europa League play-offs for the right to reach the last 16 of the tournament.
Вячеслав Грозный- While there are matches in the French Ligue 1, both in January and February, and Marseille has a heavy workload, and a large group of their players play in the African Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup of Nations, the UPL will continue the spring part of the championship on 23 February. We are definitely fresher. They are more tired, and before that, there was a high percentage of injuries in each club.
I am confident that Shakhtar will pass. Why? Last season, Marseille took third place (in Ligue 1 - ed.), and they played quite well. And it was surprising to me that Marseille, having performed quite well, released almost all the players in the first team for various reasons.
The coach was changed - Gennaro Gattuso. Let's just say that his coaching career so far has not been the same as his career as a player. This is important to know and important to understand. This is not Guardiola, who gives results, and not other coaches who were good players and became good coaches. It is not so often that a good player becomes a very strong coach. He still has his own vision of the game, but he cannot implement it.
Let's be objective: today's Shakhtar and today's Marseille are heaven and earth. If it was last year's Marseille, I would say it was 50/50.
"Shakhtar are in a better position in all situations. Yes, Marseille controls the ball well when all the main players are in the box. But many of them are injured because the French league is quite contact-based.
"Shakhtar are better in terms of finishing (than Marseille - ed.), they defend better. Look, Marseille concedes goals in every match. I don't see Marseille's system of play today.
Marseille's defence reminds me of Barcelona's. There is no balance, there is no what was under Malinowski with all those Strootmans, when they all played. It was a different situation then, they were third (in Ligue 1 - ed.) for a reason. Today, I am sure that Shakhtar's attacking group is faster than Marseille's defensive group. At Shakhtar, almost everyone is involved in the ball selection, Shakhtar play compactly. Marseille have big gaps. So what if they are strong players individually, if their individuality is not backed up by their work for the team.
I saw them lose 0-1 to Lyon. Yes, they created a number of chances, they should have scored. But Lyon still had to score. They are now fighting for survival. I'm not talking about games with the giants.
And Gigot, the centre-back, is constantly breaking, he can't keep up. The centre-backs are left one-on-one, they don't have time. They do not have time to insure each other. I admit that they are afraid of Shakhtar.
I can say that today Shakhtar hold the cards. I think Marseille is afraid of Shakhtar," the expert said.
