Lucescu thrilled with Shakhtar win in Braga

Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu was left pleased after seeing his side claim a 2-1 win away to Sporting Braga in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.

Goals in each half from Yaroslav Rakitskiy and Facundo Ferreyra ensured Shakhtar left the Estadio Municipal on Thursday with two vital away goals.

Despite Wilson Eduardo netting late for Braga to keep them in the tie, Lucescu believes Shakhtar are in a good position going into next week’s return leg in Lviv.

“Spectacular encounter between two worthy opponents. In the first half, we well organised it defensively. By and large, Braga didn’t create anything, with the exception of a single long-range shot goalwards,” Lucescu said via Shakhtar’s official website.

“Meanwhile, at the end of the first half, we capitalised on our chance following a corner kick and scored. We knew that we were playing against technical and aggressive team. We tried not to give them any open space for launching attacks.

“On our part, in the second half, we took advantage of the fast attacks and counterattacks as that might result in a bigger score. 

“Braga are a good team, and I think that in Lviv, we are facing a tough game. We will try to prepare very well for the second leg and to advance further in the Europa League.”

Braga coach Paulo Fonseca, meanwhile, believes the 2-1 scoreline in Shakhtar’s favour was not a fair reflection of his side’s performance. 

“I do not like to talk about justice in football, but the truth is that the result did not reflect what happened on the field,” Fonseca told a news conference.

“[But] we will fight until the end, until the last second to get past a team that will be obviously comfortable with the result achieved here.”