Midfielder of "Dynamo" Oleksandr Pihalionok summed up the away match of his team against Turkish "Galatasaray" (3:3) in the 7th round of the main stage of the Europa League, which took place yesterday in Istanbul.
Oleksandr Pihalionok and Vitaliy Buyalskyi— Oleksandr, it was a very emotional match today. How do you comment on it?
— The emotions are very good. The stadium was packed, and the support was very loud. It was very pleasant, even though we were playing away. It seems that I heard such loud support from the fans here for the first time. It's good that we earned our first point in the tournament in such a tough match; now we will aim for victory in the next match.
— So you claim that this was the loudest support from fans in your career?
— Perhaps the only stadium that can rival Galatasaray's is Hampden Park, which I visited with the national team of Ukraine. But there I didn’t go out onto the field; I watched the game from the bench.
— Did the atmosphere in the stands affect the players of "Galatasaray"? The hosts were leading by two goals by the middle of the first half...
— I would say that it is about concentration here. It is clear that when the home fans push forward, it is easier to attack. But, in my opinion, it all depends on concentration — we lost the player here, and unfortunately conceded quick goals. But then we gathered, scored one back. I haven’t seen the episode with the penalty yet; I wonder what happened there... And after that, thank God, we equalized the score. Even at 3:3, if we managed the ball better, we could have hoped for a victory. But it’s good that it ended this way since the hosts also had their moments. Overall, it was a draw.
— Did Vanat's goal before the break bring "Dynamo" back into the game? What did you discuss in the locker room?
— I believe so because whenever you score just before halftime, even with the score at 0:2, that goal gives the team strength.
— There was a double substitution at halftime. What instructions did you and Andriy Yarmolenko take onto the field?
— To play more forward, to impose more struggle in the center of the field, which we tried to accomplish. Yarmolenko came on, scored two — and then left the field. (Laughs).
— But you provided an assist in the episode with the second goal when you took a corner. Did Andriy thank you?
— You could say that. He scored a double in the match, making a significant contribution to achieving this result.
— Did Yarmolenko's return to the field give the team strength and confidence?
— Of course, it adds. He is an example for us both on and off the field. With him on the field, you only feel positive emotions.
