Former Shakhtar defender Serhiy Yashchenko commented on the defeat of his former team by Bayern Munich (1:5) in yesterday’s match of the 6th round of the main stage of the Champions League.
Serhiy Yashchenko— The opponent was a head taller than Shakhtar — in physical fitness, in movement, in technical equipment, and practically didn’t let the “miners” lift their heads, — said Serhiy Volodymyrovych. – When Bayern conceded a goal, there was a certain tactical confusion in the German team, but then the Munich side turned on maximum pressing, which ultimately led to the failure of Shakhtar at the finish. I would note that in the second half the “miners” absolutely did not understand how to oppose this opponent while Bayern caught exceptional courage.
— Was it the idea of the Munich team to force Shakhtar to make mistakes at every step?
— Yes, it was obvious. Bayern definitely studied the game of the “miners” very carefully. Vincent Kompany and his coaching staff correctly noted that under pressure Shakhtar players very often lose the ball, and everything crumbles... In the first 15 minutes, as long as they had enough strength, Shakhtar tried to act diligently, scored a goal, and conceded one, thinking that the Munich side would drop the tempo and take a pause, but this did not happen.
— The decision to put Gram in defense was surprising. What did you think of his play?
— I will immediately say about the penalty — I believe that there was no foul by Gram in that episode. But the referee compensated for Bayern's earlier disallowed goal against Shakhtar in this way... As for other game moments involving Gram, I will say this: if some other player had been in his place, it would have been the same... The issue is not with Gram, but with Bayern, which was very mobile, motivated, and demonstrated excellent execution that evening.
— You noted Bayern's total pressing, but was there not a risk in this? Shakhtar, besides the scored goal, had other moments…
— There was certainly some degree of risk because if Sudakov had scored, it would have complicated everything for Bayern. However, in my opinion, globally it changed nothing. Bayern would still have squeezed Shakhtar. Unfortunately, it was not only Sudakov who missed, but also Traore and Bondar. But such poor execution is a mirror in which we see the shortcomings in individual skill. Remember how Bayern scored, compare, and everything will become clear.
— The substitution of Sikan for Traore was not very understandable…
— Traore did not strengthen the game. Regarding Sikan, perhaps he had some kind of injury, or maybe the coach saw that Sikan did not fit into this tactical structure. In any case, Bayern did not allow any of them to play at full strength. Yes, before the match, the “miners” talked a lot about their desire to win against the Munich side, but as we know, wanting and being able are different things. Bayern didn’t let any of the “miners” lift their heads, and Shakhtar lost their game.
— What did the introduction of a numerous group of Brazilians give?
— Marino Pushich probably hoped for Brazilian technique, that they would be able to slow down the tempo, keep possession of the ball, but in fact, this move only worsened the situation. With the introduction of these Brazilians, Shakhtar's defense practically fell apart, and they conceded amazing goals... It seems to me that this was an overreach on Pushich’s part.
— What are the chances of a more or less successful completion of this stage of the Champions League still left for Shakhtar, and how should the team prepare for the January matches?
— In terms of points, there are still some decent calculations. The problem is different — the coaching staff of the “miners” will have to work seriously to maintain psychological balance within the team and come up with something before the matches against the next opponents, to avoid repeating the bad scenarios of the matches against PSV and Bayern. After all, now everyone will study how to beat this Shakhtar... After the 17th round of the UPL, I think the “miners” will get some days off, after which they will have to keep in shape until about the 20th of January. How it all will turn out is hard to say right now. Usually, after a normal rest and training camp, the team starts to miss football and literally flies on the field, but in this case, it would be good to at least avoid exhaustion.
Oleg Semenchenko
