Gurban Gurbanov: My players played bravely until the end, despite the defeat

After the match "Napoli" - "Qarabag" (2:0), held in the V round of the Champions League, the head coach of the visiting team, Gurban Gurbanov, answered journalists' questions. Sport24.az reports that the specialist first expressed his views on the meeting...

– I congratulate "Napoli" and head coach Antonio Conte. As for the game, I was satisfied with our game. Although we lost, the players were not afraid, they played bravely until the end. We had a very high-quality opponent. I also noted yesterday that we should enjoy this tournament and be confident in every game to grow.

– What did not go as you expected in the game of both your team and the opponent?

– Everything was as we thought. We just lost 8-10 minutes when we made a change before the goal - when we switched from a 5-man defense to a 4-man defense. During this time, there was a misunderstanding in the team and the fate of the game was decided. Highly skilled football players took advantage of this. There is nothing to complain about the players.

– Can Medina's departure from the game be called a turning point?

– In such tense matches, unexpected substitutions interfere with plans. Sami Mmae did not join the game badly. It's just that Medina's performance and experience in recent matches would have been better for such matches.