Shakhtar head coach Marino Pusic commented on the return match with Marseille in the Europa League playoff round.
“This is the second game, and as we all know, this is where everything will be decided. We felt how good Marseille are in the first game, despite all their current problems. But I can tell you that they are still Marseille, with a large number of very strong individual players who make it possible to get results. We felt this during the first game and we must be ready for the second to respond in certain individual moments, which is what we are going to do. In any case, it will be an interesting fight: in the first meeting the game was equal, probably in the second it will be the same.
It's always difficult to play an away match here in Marseille – I had the same experience with Feyenoord two years ago in the semi-final of the UEFA Conference League. I know how loud it can be in this stadium with a lot of fans, but it’s also very nice because you play such matches in this atmosphere, with this pressure and everything that goes with such matches. So we are looking forward to the game and will be ready for it.
As for changes, football changes every day and anything is possible. There is also a lot of room for change in our composition. But it also happens that the coach can also change, so there is a chance that they will change the style of play. It all comes down to adapting at the right time, and I believe we can adapt to any situation.”
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“It's always an interesting situation when a club changes coaches before a game, trying to achieve something. They may introduce a number of changes – we don't know about this, but it is possible. However, this does not affect our preparation for the game. We focus entirely on ourselves, on maintaining our own style.. Of course, we are interested in our opponent, as always, we are studying them, and how they will play now, it certainly depends on their coach, but, as I said before, this is a big club, a team with a fair amount of individual quality. For me, the main thing in a football match is adaptation to events on the field. We are ready to answer many points, and I hope that we will show it. As I always tell my team: we came to compete with another team. This is the second game, we came to play football, we like the atmosphere, I like this tension, so we are looking forward to this match,” Shakhtar’s official website quotes Pusic as saying.
The return match of the Europa League playoff round Marseille – Shakhtar will take place on Thursday, February 22, and will begin at 22:00 Kyiv time. The first meeting between the teams ended in a 2:2 draw.
An online broadcast of the Marseille – Shakhtar match will be available on ISPORT.
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