The words of the Ukrainian coach: “Roma plays in a top league and the team’s level is very high, it didn’t surprise us.”

Oleksandr Shovkovsky, coach of Dynamo Kyiv, spoke in a press conference following the lost match against Roma. These were his words:

“All the changes were made between midfield and attack. “We know that Roma is a strong team and how they set up their attack, we wanted to stay compact to prevent the Yellow and Reds from scoring too early in the first half. We conceded a goal from a penalty, which could have been given or not given – in my opinion, it could have also not been given.” And this greatly influenced the course of the match. We thought we would retaliate, and in the first half, we had a couple of opportunities. We too had scored, but we were offside. “In the second half, we wanted to change something, we tried to keep the ball and we even had some opportunities.”

“The department you liked the most and the one you liked the least.” “We are an exceptional team, not divided by departments. We missed aggressiveness in our attack, the team plays extremely well, and the level is top-notch, which does not happen in our championship.” “In Ukraine, we don’t have the money to buy foreign players, and many, when the war began, requested a transfer.”

“Were you expecting more from Roma?” “Roma played as we know and as we expected. We know that they have been heavily leveraging game changes during the offensive phase, utilizing the sidelines, seeking to apply pressure on our defense line, and dribbling with individuals. We experienced exactly what we had prepared for, and so it unfolded. “Roma is playing in a top league, and Roma’s level is very high, it did not surprise us.”

“Today, Yarmolenko and others did not play.” Will they recover in time for the championship? “I don’t think they’ll be with Shakhtar, they’re injured and we still need some time.”

Regarding Dovbyk. “I know him very well, I was part of the national team’s staff for the Euro 2020. He knows how to exploit his quality with his physicality, with his head, he protects the ball. I would be delighted to have a player like this on my team.”

Regarding the choices in offense. “We also played with the game against Shakhtar in mind, taking into account fatigue and tiredness. “Now we have injured and disqualified players. I formed the team taking these factors into consideration.”