Slot wary of EL return: ‘Even though it is said that Shakhtar can’t give a damn’ | Football

Mar 15, 2023 at 3:25 PMUpdate: 3 minutes ago

Arne Slot thinks that many people are unfairly condescending about Shakhtar Donetsk. The Feyenoord trainer expects his team to have a hard time on Thursday evening in the battle for a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

“My players did almost everything right last week. The general opinion is that the opponent can’t give a damn, but that is certainly not the case with me. I think the opposite. We let Shakhtar out a little less last week see,” Slot said at his press conference on Wednesday.

Feyenoord failed to provide a good starting position for the return in Poland last week – Shakhtar cannot play home games in Ukraine due to the war. Despite a predominance, the team from Rotterdam even fell behind in the final phase. In the 88th minute, Ezequiel Bullaude prevented Feyenoord from facing a tougher assignment in the return (1-1).

“We will have to be at least as good on Thursday”, Slot emphasized. “Last week, our good game only resulted in a draw. In addition, Shakhtar missed three players in the rear last week, who will be back on Thursday. We will have to do a lot of good to reach the quarter-finals.”

Feyenoord overcame a deficit against Shakhtar last week. Photo: Getty Images

Slot: ‘Have often shown that they can beat data models’

As expected, Slot and Alireza Jahanbakhsh emphasized at the press conference on Wednesday that Feyenoord’s focus is entirely on the return against Shakhtar. Even though three days later the Classic against Ajax in the Johan Cruijff ArenA is on the program.

In addition, the always loaded squatter may be decisive this time in the exciting title fight. Due to the match against Shakhtar, leader Feyenoord has much fewer rest days than the already eliminated team from Amsterdam, but Slot is not very concerned about that.

“If you play an away game a few days after a match, it reduces your chances of winning. But I think we have often shown that we can beat data models. We have often managed to do things that are not possible from a historical perspective Slot said.

The return between Feyenoord and Shakhtar Donetsk starts on Thursday at 6.45 pm in De Kuip and is led by the Spanish referee Jesús Gil Manzano. The draw for the quarterfinals will be made on Friday.

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