Dynamo centre-back Vladyslav Zakharchenko shared his impressions of the 5th matchday of the Conference League group stage against Fiorentina in which our team narrowly lost (1:2):
– Of course there are some negative emotions because we wanted to win and earn points. But there are also positive emotions because I was trusted with a place in the starting lineup which is very nice. For me it’s an invaluable experience to play against players like Kean and Džeko. So emotions are mixed.
– The first conceded goal came quite early – Kean scored with a header. What was the mistake by defenders?
– Maybe we didn’t track him closely enough. We paid more attention to the ball than to the striker. We’ll have to rewatch and analyze that episode later.
– How can you assess yourself compared to world-class forwards who have long been known to a wide audience?
– I don’t even know how to assess it. Of course I’m only at the beginning of my journey in senior football while Džeko is very experienced and it was very interesting to play against him today. It’s an invaluable experience. It was pleasant and interesting to face him.
– Did Dynamo deserve a better result today?
– We had our moments but Fiorentina also had theirs. It comes down to who is more fortunate – they converted their chances and we didn’t.
– What did Ihor Kostiuk say at halftime before the team equalized and what did he say after the game?
– At halftime we corrected some things that weren’t working for us – both in defense and in attack. The coach gave us instructions on what needed to be done. And after the match he thanked guys because everyone showed desire today, everyone wanted to play and fought on the pitch.
