Shakhtar Donetsk Coach Luis Castro admits they “have more Champions League experience and it shows” after beating Atalanta 2-1.
The Ukrainians fought back from an early Duvan Zapata goal – and saved a Josip Ilicic penalty – to win with the last kick of the game from substitute Manor Solomon.
Shakhtar Donetsk Coach Luis Castro admits they “have more Champions League experience and it shows” after beating Atalanta 2-1.
The Ukrainians fought back from an early Duvan Zapata goal – and saved a Josip Ilicic penalty – to win with the last kick of the game from substitute Manor Solomon.
“I want to thank the team for a fantastic victory. I’m very happy, all the substitutions were made to strengthen the attack and it worked,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
“We had to win this game on a strategic and tactical level. The first 15 minutes were really difficult and Atalanta created a lot of problems for us.
“They play out from the back, then go on the wing, from side to side. We therefore created three triangles to cover the wings and the central midfielders.
“It was like a merry-go-round, they took control, then we did, then it swung back again. I don’t want to analyse who is the stronger or weaker team, it was just a wonderful game and we had this unstoppable desire to win.
“Shakhtar certainly have more experience in the Champions League and that showed. We had patience and knew when to soak up pressure, to wait for our moment. We saw the energy they had in the first 15 minutes and knew that tempo couldn’t last.
“These were two very entertaining and impressive teams.”