Shakhtar Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu said “Juventus wanted this win much more,” but also complained about the referee.
Shakhtar Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu said “Juventus wanted this win much more,” but also complained about the referee.
“Juventus played a good game, prepared well, were aggressive and won the midfield battles, then took advantage of a refereeing error. In my view, the goal was offside,” said the former Inter Coach.
The 1-0 Champions League result at the Donbass Arena was sealed by an own goal, though Stephan Lichtsteiner seemed to be offside when putting in the cross.
“To reach a certain level, you need to have talent and history, but also a certain political strength in football,” continued Lucescu on Mediaset.
“I thought a draw would’ve been the right result and we really missed Luiz Adriano, as our strikers were unable to do what Adriano does, particularly when helping out in midfield.
“Juventus really were hungry for this game and they closed us all over the field, giving us very little space. Fortune favours the brave and it did tonight.
“It’s true there could’ve been a penalty for both teams too. I don’t say the referee decided the match. I just saw that it was offside, while there was a clear penalty not awarded on Willian in Turin. We must wait a few years before we are as respected as the big European clubs.
“It was a balanced match and a draw was right, but you could see Juventus wanted it much more than my players. Now we have a month off and perhaps my players were already thinking about their holidays.
“It’s also possible some of my players were thinking about the transfer market, as they are young and lately there has been far too much talk around them. You can see a fraction of a second makes all the difference at this level.”