The head coach of Donetsk Shakhtar, Arda Turan, summarized yesterday’s match of his team against the Greek Panathinaikos (0:0) in the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League.
“I am not satisfied with the score, but I am satisfied with the game. We started with simple ball losses, but later took control of the ball and dominated. We respect the strategy of our opponent — Panathinaikos, knowing that it would be effective during set pieces and transitions from defense to attack. There were indeed such moments during the match.
In the second half, we finally played the game we want to see. We controlled the ball and the flow of the entire match. When playing against an opponent like Panathinaikos, it’s crucial to act correctly in game episodes. In my opinion, we made a few mistakes in this regard.
Overall, I am satisfied with the progress of the game, but in the penalty area, when we get there, we need to be more eager to score, we need to feel it. Because such a game demands that. At times, we may have been too calm in the penalty area, and we need to understand the value of getting the ball to the final stage. Perhaps there is no tactic for this, but we will think about how to improve it. We will work on it. I am satisfied with the performance of my players. It’s not easy to make all these flights and play every three days. Our vision — one team, one family. And we will stick to that path. I am proud of my players.
To be honest, I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be improved in our game itself because I’m very satisfied with it. I do not intend to change anything for the return match; we will just try to play certain episodes better.
The situation with Eginhaldu? There is a difference between simply judging and truly feeling the game. If a player is running at a speed of 30 km/h and is pushed from behind, the first question is about the health of that player. If VAR is not for such moments, then I don’t know why it is needed at all. Of course, evaluating the work of the referee or VAR is not our responsibility, but I lost a player, Eginhaldu, and I feel very sad about that. And now neither UEFA nor the referee can help in any way. If there is injustice in life, I always believe that we must speak openly about it. That’s why I cannot accept this. I lost a player and I don’t know for how long. It was a 100% penalty, in my opinion. The referee and the VAR have some explanations. I spoke with the referee and did not understand what exactly he meant,” said Turan.