After the 4:0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Matchday One of the Champions League Group Stages, the Maccabi captain, Eran Zahavi hopes that he along with his teammates can improve when they face Dynamo Kyiv tomorrow night. The goal will be for the Yellow-and-Blue to score their first points of their European campaign.
“I believe that the transition from the Champions League to the Israeli League also has a mental affect on the club,” explained Zahavi at the press conference prior to the match at Sammy Ofer Stadium. “The loss to Raanana can only happen once in many matches. I think that we’re on the right path and we are preparing for a very difficult game against a team that we know plays at a higher level than us, Dynamo Kyiv and I’m hoping that we can get a good result.”
On not scoring in a few matches:
“Even though I haven’t scored in a few matches, that doesn’t mean that something has changed and that doesn’t make me a different player. I also believe I’m doing other work including opening up other areas of the pitch and like I said before I believe we are on the right path.”
The match against Kyiv is one that Maccabi should score some points:
“We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves and we respect our opponent. We want to come and take some points just like we also wanted to do when we played Chelsea. The goal is to come into every game looking to take points in the competition. We want to show that we can play attractive football at home. Of course we have a better chance in Israel than away but we are facing an excellent club and we will have to work very hard to take some points even here.”
How does this compare to your last Champions League campaign:
“I’m not going to discuss other teams that played other times in the Champions League. We’re coming into the match to play the best that we can and we are also playing totally different teams. The goal is to play quality football and make sure that the supporters can enjoy the match and for us to take at least a point.”
On playing a more physical opponent:
“I think we have plenty to give on the physical level as well. We can do some things better than them and some things not a well and we have to take advantage of our strengths. We want to give the best that we can. What’s most important is the end result and I hope we can achieve it.”
Who’s the most dangerous player on Dynamo Kyiv:
“I’m not familiar with all of their players but I do know they have some very good ones. Andriy Yarmolenko is a very dangerous player, but like I said before there are many players on their team that are dangerous and we’re prepared for them.”
