The defender of Kyiv’s «Dynamo», Oleksandr Karavaev commented on his team’s defeat in yesterday’s match against English «Crystal Palace» (0:2) in the 1st round of the main stage of the Conference League.
Oleksandr Karavaev. Photo — O. Popov— Oleksandr Karavaev has played in many tournaments in his career, but today he made his debut in a new one for himself. In the first round, «Dynamo» faced the main favorite of the tournament. What are your impressions of the Conference League and the match?
— Basically, it’s a European tournament just like any other, as European teams participate, only those that placed a bit lower in their championships. But still, there are very strong teams. Both «Crystal Palace», «Fiorentina», and many others. It’s interesting to meet such rivals from the strongest leagues.
— There were many fans of both teams at the match today. The team looked very focused, well-prepared. What did you feel as you stepped onto the field?
— When you feel such support, even from the opposing team, a team from the EPL, which came to support with 2.5 – 3 thousand fans who sang throughout the match... In general, when you watch this championship on television and hear how fans in any city at any stadium sing songs in the same way, supporting their teams throughout the match, you understand the football atmosphere there. Today we felt a bit of that. It changes how you play — you become more focused, maybe a bit risky. You draw inspiration from this football atmosphere. Perhaps this played its role, as our fans also came to support us. When you feel this atmosphere, you play differently.
Of course, the preparation was very serious because we analyzed this opponent, knew how they played — a lot of fighting, rushing into counterattacks. We were ready for this. Until the unfortunate collision with Mykhavka, everything was going very well: we were winning challenges, controlling the flow of the game. Certainly, the opponents were pressing, and we saw they were constantly playing long passes, sending the ball up, which we had to react to. In general, we did everything as needed, and the opponent didn’t have many chances. Then, when we conceded an unfortunate goal while down a player, we began to open up more, there were still moments. But we did everything we agreed upon, so the game was going well.
— «Crystal Palace» is experiencing one of the best periods in its history, perhaps the best. The team hasn’t lost in 19 matches, has won two trophies, and is in third place in the EPL... Can we say that this is a higher-level opponent than in the Conference League?
— You could say that. Both in terms of the opponent and the game. But we are playing in the Conference League, so that is the level of this tournament.
