Lucescu: Malmo should be relieved to only concede four

Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu hailed his team’s performance after the Ukrainians thrashed Malmo 4-0 in their Champions League Group A encounter on Tuesday.

Olexandr Gladkiy scored Shakhtar’s first European goal of the campaign on 29 minutes before captain Darijo Srna doubled their advantage after the break.

Eduardo netted a third soon after and Alex Teixeira rounded off the rout, but there was still time for Malmo’s Kari Arnason to receive a late red card.

Romanian boss Lucescu was delighted with the emphatic win as his side picked up their first group points.

“I think Malmo should be glad with conceding only four goals. We had more than 20 attempts and could have scored many more,” he said.

“We have proven football based on combinations and skills – as opposed to Malmo’s long balls – can be effective.

“The only upset is that two important players, Srna and [Olexandr] Kucher, received yellow cards and will miss the game against Madrid.

“I’m glad our goalkeeper Anton Kanibolotskiy made his debut in the Champions League. He saved us in the first half and he deserved to play in this tournament.”

Shakhtar have moved up to third in the table following their home win but remain four points adrift of second-placed PSG with two games to play.