In the fourth week of UEFA Europa League Group B, Fenerbahçe will face AEK Larnaca on Thursday, coach Jorge Jesus and Miguel Crespo made statements. Expressing that a difficult match awaits them, Jesus said, “Because our opponent has hope and possibilities to get out of the group. They got good results in the matches they played in the group. In this context, we hope to show a good game and win in order to get out of the group. A difficult match is waiting for us.”
“WE HAVE TO LEAVE MANY PLAYERS DUE TO INJURY IN ISTANBUL”
Speaking about the missing players in the team, Jesus said, “There are injured players in our team. This is a result of our struggle both in the Europa League and in our own league. Playing a match every 3 days can have such consequences. We have the opportunity to rotate as much as we did before in the Thursday game. “We had to leave many of our players in Istanbul due to injuries. We want to start the game with physically available players on Thursday and leave here victorious and take a good step for the tour,” he said.
“WE ARE LOOKING AT THIS MATCH ONLY IN A SPORTS FRAMEWORK, NOT IN A POLITICAL FRAMEWORK”
Saying that every team in the group continues their claim, the Portuguese coach said, “Our group is very balanced. Everyone in the group has a chance. If we win here on Thursday, it will be a big step in terms of getting out of the group. We will guarantee to get out of the group by winning. We look at this match only from a sporting perspective, “We don’t look at it in a political context,” he said.
Speaking about Attila Szalai and Michy Batshuayi’s situation, Jesus said, “Luan Peres’ injury made it difficult for us to rotate for Attila Szalai. He is the only player who has played every game so far. We will find the right moment to rest him. I make my decisions before the game. So I haven’t decided yet whether it is the right match for him to rest on Thursday. As you know, we have an important game in the league on Monday. So I will make my decision about him on Thursday. I always see the physical condition of the players according to the matches and training. “I’m trying to make my decision accordingly. Michy Batshuayi got sick today. He came here with the team anyway. Too many of our players will not be able to be in the game due to injury. I don’t know what his situation will be tomorrow, for now. If his situation is normal, he may be in the match squad,” he said.
Noting that the match progressed, Jesus said about the UEFA Europa League: “Our expectations from Thursday’s match are that it will be a difficult match. I think the Larnaca team is very motivated due to many factors that we have just talked about. This is also an alarm for us. We will implement it on the field. We won’t change the ideas we want. Right now we know our opponent better, they know us better. We played 1 game. It will be a difficult game for both teams. We believe that we have all kinds of conditions to be able to leave here with a win and to be the first in the group. The European league is getting better day by day. It gets harder. There are stronger teams compared to the past. We are also in the adaptation process. We are in a period where we want to regain our identity in Europe. When we came here, the team was not even in the top 100 in the European rankings. If I am not mistaken, it should be around 70-odd. The thing is to rebuild our image in Europe. , we look at the tournament match by match. The most important and most difficult match for us is the next match.”
MIGUEL CRESPO: WE CAME TO WIN
Miguel Crespo said: “We know that Thursday will be a complicated game, but we prepared well. We came here for the win. We are ready for this game.”
Speaking about his individual performance, Crespo said, “I am happy that my performance has increased. I try to continue my studies in the best way. I am a competitive player. I always try to do my best. I am very happy to help my team. Because the most important thing for me is to help my team. He is also aware of this. I have played matches in a row, but I am always ready to play. We do our best no matter which player our teacher plays,” he said.
About the complicated match description, Crespo said, “The previous game we played against them is a good example of this. Our opponents are man-to-man marking and it’s always difficult to play against teams that mark man-to-man. They’re a very competitive team but we’re ready for it. For 3 points. We’re here,” he said.