Former Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Serhiy Kovalets commented on the White and Blues' victory over Partizan in the first match of the Champions League 2nd qualifying round.
- My impressions of the game are positive. I watched the control matches that Dynamo played during the preparatory period in Austria, and I liked the team in them. I liked their speed, aggression and forward play. It should be noted that Dynamo had good opponents at the training camp - in particular, German teams. So with this in mind, I expected a good game in the match with Partizan. And the 6-2 result gives us a good reason to advance to the next round.
- Do you think that maybe Partizan was not the opponent to assess Dynamo's true capabilities?
- Despite the way Partizan played in yesterday's match, I would like to recognize Dynamo's performance. It is clear that in order to reach the main draw of the Champions League stage, more effort is required, as there will be stronger clubs there. So there is still work to be done. There were good emotions in yesterday's match. Dynamo beat a team that traveled to Russia. The whole world doesn't go there, UEFA has banned all Russian clubs, and FIFA has banned the national team from participating in matches under their auspices because of the war in Ukraine. And the Serbs go and tell them that we are brothers, both Ukrainians and Russians. Therefore, the result of yesterday's match is twice as pleasant for our fans, for Ukraine and for the defenders of our country who are fighting on the front line.
- Which of Dynamo's players did you like?
- I would like to recognize the entire team here. They played solidly. A team wins and loses - these are trite words, but it is true. Just like the whole team defends and attacks. Because many people write about the problems in the defense and even name individual defenders. However, you need to look at how the whole team defends, not just one player. So I repeat: I want to single out the entire team that pleased our fans. Congratulations to Dynamo for making a good start for the return leg.
- What can you say about Oleksandr Pikhalenko's official debut?
- He played well in the match against Partizan. He is a fairly intelligent player, he is a good reinforcement for Dynamo Kyiv. Just like Maxim Bragaru and Valeriy Rubchynsky, who will play at the Olympics today.
- If Dynamo advances to the next round of the European Cup tournament, its opponent will be Glasgow Rangers from Scotland.
- This is a serious club with rich traditions, which is not easy for anyone to play against. British football is a forceful style of struggle, pressure, fighting qualities, dangerous "standards" and the ability to play on the "second floor". Glasgow Rangers have been demonstrating all this for a long time, so their opponent is quite serious.
Andriy Pysarenko