Shakhtar's central defender Valeriy Bondar commented on the victory over AZ Alkmaar (3:0) in the first match of the Conference League quarterfinals, highlighting the importance of the result and the special atmosphere at the stadium.
The footballer emphasized that the team received an additional impulse from the presence of the president of the club:.
— Garni vrazhennya! We succeeded, but we still haven’t finished the job until the end, even after the European Cups, and we can eat well now. We are already preparing for the upcoming match – from LNZ. We are glad that we were able to achieve such an important victory and make our president happy, even after being at the stadium for 12 years. Everyone had a genuine motivation to please him, give him food, positive emotions, and, first of all, to give him pleasure..
Bondar knew that the team knew about the possible visit of Rinat Akhmetov even before the game:.
— We knew the three rubles earlier, but didn’t know exactly when we were coming. Later at the stadium they already announced that the president had arrived, and, of course, this was additional motivation and pressure for everyone.
Zahisnik also showed respect for the flexibility of the game against the organized defense of his opponent:.
— It was even more difficult to destroy the defense of AZ, because the stench continued to persist for many hours.
According to the gravel's words, the team was ready for the strong sides of the Netherlands:.
— We were told the pros and cons of this team. AZ controls the ball very well and works with it, but in such a team there are problems in the transition phases. We understood her insecurity, but it was important to speed up our moments.
Bondar explained that after the first goal the game became more open:
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- This is a normal situation. The opponent wants to win, and we want to increase our advantage, so we are ready until then.
The author also emphasized the importance of standards, which became one of the keys to success:.
— From now on, coaches will say that it is necessary to believe in goals after set pieces. I think this match had enough faith,” Bondar said.
Video review of the match Shakhtar - AZ marvel on Football. ua.