Shakhtar Donetsk Coach Paulo Fonseca fires a warning ahead of the Napoli game – “anyone who thinks we’ve come here for a draw is wrong”.
The Ukrainian side will qualify for the Last 16 of the Champions League if they avoid defeat at the San Paolo, but they’ll still be playing to win.
“If you want to talk about importance, every game is important for me,” Fonseca shrugged in the pre-match Press conference.
Shakhtar Donetsk Coach Paulo Fonseca fires a warning ahead of the Napoli game – “anyone who thinks we’ve come here for a draw is wrong”.
The Ukrainian side will qualify for the Last 16 of the Champions League if they avoid defeat at the San Paolo, but they’ll still be playing to win.
“If you want to talk about importance, every game is important for me,” Fonseca shrugged in the pre-match Press conference.
“This is not the absolute most important match for us. The team is ready, motivated and fit for this great game against a great Napoli side.
“I’m not afraid of anything about Napoli, there’s no need to be afraid, it’s a game.
“We respect the Azzurri of course, they’re one of the best teams in Italy coached by a Coach who I really admire, so we know we have a tough match waiting for us.
“Napoli and Manchester City were favourites [when the draw was made] but we’ve been able to subvert expectations. That doesn’t mean we’ve already secured qualification though.
“We’re waiting for two matches with excellent teams in Napoli and City, we’ll see what happens.
“We never deny our game plan, no matter who the opponent is. We like to have the ball and dominate the game and we’ll try to do the same thing.
“Of course we’re aware that since we’re facing Napoli we’ll have to adapt to their excellent possession game, but we’ll do that without changing our philosophy.
“If anyone thinks we’ve come here to defend and win qualification, they’re wrong.”
Dries Mertens didn’t start the game in Ukraine, will Shakhtar have to adopt a different approach to deal with him?
“Our defensive principles don’t change for one opponent. Mertens is one of the best strikers in Europe right now, but we’ll stay true to our style of play.
“It’s not easy to surprise Napoli, they’re a very strong team and tomorrow it could be the emotional side of every player that could make the difference.
“I’m not expecting anything new, both teams know each other.”