Igor YAVORSKY: “Porto players had a higher classification”

In the final match of the Champions League group stage, Shakhtar lost to Porto (3:5) and retired early from this most prestigious football tournament in Europe.

Former popular striker in conversation with Sport.ua correspondent Igor YavorskyHe later revealed what proved to be his coaching success, explaining what prevented the Pitmen from achieving the winning result in Portugal that would have guaranteed them a place in the play-offs.

– In my opinion, guest coach Marino Pusic chose the right tactical plan. The fact that the experienced Rakitsky returned to the center of the defense and Matvienko to the left wing of the defense was an indication of their efforts to keep their goal intact for as long as possible. Then gradually take the game away from your hand and look for a chance when playing counter-attacks or set pieces.

Unfortunately, this plan did not work as the home side scored an early goal without much difficulty. It seems that Pusic, with the help of short passes, forces his new players to move to the other half of the field, and if the Pitmen have no problems with this in the home field, then in the Champions League, where everything is done much faster, it has led to annoying mistakes, which leads to missed goals led. Expect disaster when you can’t keep up with an opponent with faster legs and thoughts.

And when a happy accident helped Sican to correct the situation, this did not at all affect the “direction” of the game, which remained under the control of Porto. Unfortunately, the missed goal, as they say, increased the hosts’ confidence in the dressing room that everything would end well for them.

– Shakhtar pleased us with their high performance, but they could not find any counter arguments against the home team. From where?

– “Porto” is one of the teams that plays itself and lets its opponent play. Yesterday the guests did not impress with their defensive reliability; Moreover, the Pitmen’s clumsy movements in the tackle allowed the Citizens to attack effectively along the entire “front”, thanks to runs on the sides. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Portuguese teams have always been famous for their technical preparation.

– Didn’t Shakhtar have a chance to play better even with maximum motivation?

– Even the first minutes of the match showed that the “citizens” had a much better setup. But the most important thing was that Porto players had a higher classification. This affected the game.

Of course, it’s nice that the miners continued the intrigue to the end, but they did not take another decisive step forward.

In my opinion, Pitmen performed well this season despite a very difficult period. Getting 9 points from such a strong group is an important result. It is important that Donetsk youth is enriched with valuable international experience that will definitely come in handy in the Europa League next spring. If the miners manage to keep all the leaders, they will have a chance to loudly declare themselves in the continental tournament for second place.