In the 9th week of the Ukrainian Premier League, Shakhtar Donetsk, managed by Arda Turan, hosted Kolos Kovalivka.
Shakhtar Donetsk won the match played at Arena Kyiv with a score of 2-1.
The goals that brought victory to the Orange-Blacks were scored by Vinicius Tobias in the 10th minute and Valeri Bondar in the 36th minute. The visiting team's only goal was scored by Ardit Tahiri in the 84th minute.
With this result, Shakhtar Donetsk secured their 5th consecutive victory in the league, raising their points to 24.
Arda Turan's post-match statements are as follows:
"I AM INCREDIBLY PROUD OF THE EFFORT THEY PUT FORTH"
"I can summarize today's match in a single word. This word is not even 'congratulations,' but above all, 'thank you.' I am grateful to everyone who contributed to this victory and this journey. Of course, besides our players, I also want to thank my coaching staff and everyone at Shakhtar. Following our previous match in the Champions League, we literally had only three to five hours to celebrate a little and sleep. We had very little time to rest before our subsequent journey. Today, we were here again and had to play another Ukrainian League match. Therefore, I am grateful to them for giving their all—both on and off the pitch—and showing their fighting spirit. I am incredibly proud of everyone and the effort they have put forth throughout this journey."
"THIS IS THE WAY I CONVEY MY THOUGHTS DURING THE MATCH"
When the score was 2-0, you seemed somewhat unhappy with the team's performance, despite having more possession and taking more shots. Was this because the players strayed from your instructions at some point, or were you demanding that they give their all?
"My main goal in every match is for the players I put on the pitch in the starting 11 and the substitutes brought on to strengthen the team to do their absolute best. I expect the substitutes to make the team stronger with their energy, ideas, and offensive and defensive qualities. Today, I saw all of that. I may have given emotional reactions at certain moments of the match. But overall, when I evaluate everything we experienced and all our emotions, I can only thank them. Sometimes I say positive things to my players, but you might see me as someone who is shouting. This is just my body language; this is the way I convey my thoughts during the match."
"IF WE TRY TO SURPRISE INTER, THEY MIGHT SURPRISE US IN A VERY UNPLEASANT WAY"
Inter is one of the strongest clubs in Europe. What gives Shakhtar confidence in surprising such opponents? Are you ready to give up attacking football for the sake of getting a result?
"Actually, if we try to surprise Inter, they might surprise us in a very unpleasant way. Of course, we will take into account the strengths and weaknesses of our next opponent, as we always do. Honestly, we haven't had the opportunity to analyze them yet, because until the final whistle of today's match, all our thoughts were focused on the Kolos fixture.
Now we will enter the process of preparing for our next opponent and return to our Champions League routine. Only then will we have a clearer idea of how and where we can exploit our opponent's weaknesses and how we can counter their strengths.
After all, Inter is one of the strongest teams in European football. We are talking about an opponent at an incredible level and with a great reputation. We are fully aware of this. However, as I emphasized before, we want to stick to our own philosophy, not take a step back, and never stop being Shakhtar."
"AS LONG AS SHAKHTAR TRUSTS ME, I AM READY TO HELP THEM"
Recently, your name has been linked with the possibility of taking charge of the Turkish national team; however, you have also mentioned your commitment to Shakhtar. At the same time, representing your country means a great deal to you. How difficult is it to balance the responsibility you have undertaken by managing a Ukrainian club during a time of war with the factors I just mentioned?
"As I said before, sometimes words take precedence over emotions and certain decisions. I can say that both factors you mentioned are extremely important to me. At the same time, my unlimited loyalty and dedication to the club will always be with me. I am here now, and as long as Shakhtar trusts me, I am ready to help them."
