Idman.biz
"I emphasized even before the match that Athletic is a team that can maintain a fast, high tempo and press in the second and third zones."
This was stated by Fuzuli Mammadov, a well-known football expert and former head coach of "Neftchi" and the Azerbaijani national team under 17, in his statement to Fanat.Az.
He evaluated the "Athletic" - "Qarabag" match (3:1), which took place within the framework of the 3rd round of the League stage of the UEFA Champions League:
"The Spanish team started the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Our team took excellent advantage of the opportunity in the first minute and opened the scoring. After the goal, as expected, the home team, which displayed dominant football, pushed our representative into the first zone. The opponent moved the ball from right to left, launched dangerous attacks from both 'wings', especially from the left wing where Nico Williams was located, and skillfully exploited even the smallest gap. "Athletic's" technical players handled the ball excellently even in a very narrow area, keeping our defense under pressure.
They had already had several real opportunities before equalizing the score. They did not allow us to build counter-attacks by immediately applying pressure. We followed the same scenario in the second half. The La Liga team's ability to maintain a high tempo resulted in some of our players getting tired, which is natural. If they see such a tempo in every game they play in La Liga, "Qarabag" only plays in such matches on the European stage. Around the 70th minute, "Athletic" head coach Ernesto Valverde changed the formation to 4-4-2.
We again watched sharp attacks and through passes performed by the "Basques". It is absurd to criticize our team, which defended with determination, for the defeat. After the opponent scored the second goal, "Qarabag" started playing risky. It was felt that the Azerbaijani representative was not going to accept the defeat. Unfortunately, our risky game in defense resulted in conceding the third goal. There is no concept of always winning in football. This defeat should not be seen as the end of the world. I wish "Qarabag" success in the next Champions League matches and I believe that our team can achieve success in the upcoming matches."
