Shakhtar Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu has praised midfielder Fernandinho and Croatian full-back Dario Srna for their contributions to the team’s title success on Sunday, in a 1-1 draw with Metalist Kharkiv.
With the team virtually assured of the title anyway, thanks to a 15-point gap at the top of the table, it looked like they would have to wait to celebrate their success as Marko Devic opened the score for the visitors in the first-half.
Lucescu, though, rang the changes at the break and reserved special praise for both Srna and Fernandinho’s role in turning the game around.
“In the first half, we probably played below our capabilities, he said. “Metalist could have scored more than one goal, they created more chances.
“The opponents were better in challenges for the ball in the middle of the park, and in the area where Douglas and Taison played, on their part in particular, there was more aggression—they had the advantage. We expected it to be like that, but we did not expect to concede a completely unnecessary goal.
“In the second half, everything changed on the pitch. I would like to mention the character of two players in this regard – Fernandinho and Srna.
“They showed by their game that they couldn’t leave the pitch today without winning the title. They were a sparkplug for the rest.”
Source: Shakhtar
