Maccabi Tel Aviv bid adieu to the Champions League Grouo Stages after falling to Dynamo Kiev 1:0 at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium. Slavisa Jokanovic summed up the loss and the club’s campaign 11-years after the team’s first foray into the tournament:
“We conceded a lucky goal early on in this match and we weren’t in the right position. My team followed the game plan and we avoided many problems in front of our box as we changed the structure that we had usually played in the Champions League. Thai way we didn’t suffer too much inside of our box. We didn’t have enough offensive opportunities and we had problems in transition. We also had problems in the possession of the ball and we had some half chances but we just didn’t do enough to take some points today.”
The campaign was a good experience for both the coach and the players:
“It’s true after many years Maccabi Tel Aviv is back in this very strong and very tough competition. I believe that we all wanted to gain experience over this period in the Champions League. It’s a big step and big change that’s very difficult to make in just two months. If Maccabi Tel Aviv will play in the Champions League over the next five years and then perhaps make it into the Europa League they will become much more competitive and then possibly make it into the Round of 16.”
Progression and improvement over the Champions League matches:
“Every game is a different story in itself. Today we played more carefully in the defensive line and we stopped Kiev’s offensive midfielders and wingers. We didn’t find a proper balance within the game and didn’t have great chances to score a goal but at the end we were competitive into the last seconds of the game and we surprised them as they weren’t sure if they should attack or defend. We lost many games very early and today was a similar case when the opposition scored after our mistakes. But we still had a chance to take a point right until the end of the game.”
Coaching a club in the Champions League for the first time:
“I tried to improve myself every game and it was a great experience for me too. I expect that in the future I will be able to compete even stronger and I expect that we will score more goals and win more points. We will be more competitive from the first game and we will try begin this European adventure in the spring and summer once again.”
