"It was not easy to psychologically prepare the team for the match after the big defeat in Baku."
According to Idman.Biz, this was stated by Qurban Gurbanov, the head coach of "Qarabag", at a press conference after the return match of the UEFA Champions League play-off stage against "Newcastle".
The specialist commented on the match they lost: "First of all, I want to thank my players. They had an interesting football season in the Champions League. This season, matches against English clubs in the Champions League were a great experience for us. I am very pleased with each of my players. They also showed themselves very well in the return match with "Newcastle". Although it was not easy to psychologically prepare the team for the match after the big defeat in Baku. After the 2 goals conceded at the beginning of the match, the players were able to pull themselves together."
Gurban Gurbanov expressed his gratitude to the fans of the English club: "They came to this game to support their club. However, they occasionally applauded our good attacks. I wish the "Newcastle" team success in the upcoming matches. And I also express my gratitude to our fans. Our fans did not leave us alone in both away and home games."
The head coach also compared Azerbaijani football with European football.
"English football is very different from European football. It was important for us to prepare the team for the game with such experience.
If we take one step forward, European football takes more steps forward. We are already behind them, but they are still developing faster. There were not so many details in football before. Football is developing extremely fast. Europe generally invests a lot in football. Football is not just about 11 players going out and training. There are many details here and we are far behind. Despite these factors, my players showed great heroism, they showed great courage," said Gurbanov.
It should be noted that the "Newcastle" - "Qarabag" match ended with a 3:2 victory for the home team. Since the English representative also won (6:1) in the first match between the parties, the "stallions" stopped fighting in the Champions League.