During the match, the Kiev team was losing 0:2 and 1:3, but found the strength to avoid defeat.
Head coach of Dynamo Kyiv Oleksandr Shovkovsky commented on the draw with Turkish Galatasaray (3:3) in the match of the seventh round of the main stage of the Europa League of the 2024/25 season.
During the match, the Ukrainian club was losing 0:2 and 1:3, but managed to make a comeback and save itself from defeat.
The coach of the “white-blues” summed up the results of the match in Istanbul at a press conference, which took place immediately after the end of the game.
“Unfortunately, according to the game scenario, we made mistakes at the beginning of the first half and also at the beginning of the second half, namely during set pieces – after corners. We understand that we will need to work on this.
A separate story is, of course, the support that Galatasaray receives when playing at home in front of their fans, and this is a compliment for Turkish fans. It is always nice to play in front of a packed stadium, and even more so when there is such crazy support. Unfortunately, in our country this is not the case due to the ongoing war.
Speaking about the fans, I drew the attention of our players to the fact that it is important to cope with their emotions before the game, so that they do not interfere with our actions when organizing both defense and attacks. On the other hand, we talked about the fact that it is very important to make the right decisions in organizing the game, both in defense and in attack. And in this matter we had problems, especially in the first half, and in the second half of the match. We did not make the decisions that we agreed on. I hope that this is precisely because of the emotional state and the crazy support that the stadium provided and because of the pressure that our players experienced during the match.
We should have handled the ball a little more calmly in the transition phase to attack, because there were very good moments that needed to be used. The decisions made and technical flaws did not allow us to successfully go on the attack. I am not talking about the final actions, but I mean the stage when we had an excellent opportunity to carry out very effective attacks with high chances to score.
And the main point is, of course, that even with an unfavorable score of 0:2 and 1:3, we continued to play, tried to find our moments and eventually found and played for a draw.
When analyzing any game, we should not always be tied to the result. Of course, it is very important, but sometimes the result may not objectively reflect the information. Of course, the first points in the seventh round are not what we expected at the beginning. But we have what we have, unfortunately, the situation developed this way, and this is a certain coincidence. Today we went out on the football field to show that the team has character, and no matter how the situation develops, we will fight to the end.
We go out to each match analyzing the opponent's actions. We try to make our own settings for the game and strive to play for the maximum result in any match. The strategy may differ depending on the opponent, the situation, the circumstances, but in each game we try to win.
After the break, we made two substitutions, we understood that they should strengthen our game, stabilize the center. We counted on the individual qualities of Andriy Yarmolenko, his confidence and experience, so we went out for the second half with a great desire to score more.
Of course, when a substitute scores two goals, it means that the substitution was successful. And Oleksandr made a corner kick, after which Yarmolenko scored, reducing the score. So both substitutions are important. I repeat to my players, and they must understand that we have a starting lineup that takes into account many moments, objective and subjective details. But our total roster consists of 28-30 players, and everyone must be ready to go out on the football field at any moment,” the official Dynamo website quotes Shovkovskiy as saying.
Having snatched a draw in the match with Galatasaray, the Kiev club won its first point in the current Europa League. Previously, the “white-blues” suffered defeat in the first six rounds, as a result of which they prematurely lost their chances of reaching the playoffs.
Currently, Dynamo continues to be in the last, 36th place in the overall standings of the main round of the Europa League.
In the final round of the main stage of the Europa League, Shovkovskiy's charges will compete with the Latvian RFS. The match will take place on January 30 in Hamburg, Germany.
Recall that in the updated format of the Europa League, 36 clubs play in a single league, where they must play against eight different opponents (four matches at home and four away). All tournament participants received 2 opponents from 4 different baskets.
The eight best teams of the main stage of the Europa League will get into the 1/8 finals. The clubs that take places from 9th to 24th in the overall standings will play paired play-off matches for reaching the 1/8 finals. The rest will finish their performance in European competitions.