The return leg of the Europa League 1/16 final between Marseille and Shakhtar Donetsk took place, with the Citizens prevailing 3-1, forcing the visitors to withdraw. Former Ukraine national team striker Oleksandr Kosyrin shared his impressions of yesterday's encounter in France.
Александр Косырин, фото: dumskaya.net- A miracle did not happen. Once again the Ukrainian team stepped on the same rake. Again spring football in its performance after the winter break was doomed to failure. Moreover, the early departure of our leading club - Shakhtar - from the Europa League led to the fact that in the European Cup season 2025-2026 Ukraine will be represented by only four teams. Sad.
Somewhere before 20 minutes, the Ukrainians were successful, scored a quick goal, controlled the course of events on the pitch. It was the same at the beginning of the second half. This shows that the Pitmen's functional preparation is not in order, and their game practice is not in order either. Because it is one thing to take part in official matches and quite another - in friendlies, even with little-known opponents, which resembled training sessions with increased responsibility. In Marseille, the Pitmen's fatigue made itself felt at key moments. As soon as the hosts adopted pressing, they immediately levelled the score and created two more chances. And when they picked up the pace at the end of the match, they took advantage of the visitors' mistakes and scored twice more.
Why did the coach made substitutions only at the end of the game? It is better to ask him about it. His Marseille colleague Jean-Louis Gasset made the right substitutions, in particular, Ismaila Sarr, who appeared on the pitch, soon put the Citizens ahead. Although it was obvious that there are problems not only with their physical condition, but Irakli Azarov, Artem Bondarenko, Oleksandr Zubkov, which is very difficult for Taras Stepanenko after his injury.
It is a shame, because by and large, the "citizens" did not impress with anything. They also had some breaks in their actions, but the guests did not take advantage of it. I am convinced that if these rivals had fought last autumn, the Pitmen would have been closer to victory. But we have what we have.
"Shakhtar played worse than expected. There was an impression that the Pitmen did not know what could tip the scales in their favour. However, this is already Shakhtar's problem. Marseille bosses can be proud of themselves. Gasset's arrival contributed to the team's cohesion, and he also made the right substitution. The rule that after replacing the manager, the team transforms and wins 2-3 games in a row has worked again. We just have to be patient and see if Marseille will be able to prove themselves in the French league under Gasset's leadership," Kosyrin said.
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