Lucsecu: Our luck will return

Mircea Lucescu admits the pressure is on Shakhtar Donetsk to make amends against Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Ukrainians are bottom of the group after earning just one point from their two games thus far in the competition.

Lucescu has underlined the significance of Wednesday’s match, and he believes his players will pull through against Luciano Spalletti’s men despite a shaky start in Europe.

“I don’t need to repeat how important this match is for us. It’s always difficult to play when you’re under pressure because of the importance of the game. Shakhtar need to win every match,” Lucescu told uefa.com.

The Romanian boss is hoping he gets the chance to let off some steam against the Russians as he evokes motivation from his players.

“We lost points in our previous Champions League matches because of mistakes. At the same time, the high quality of our play gives me confidence that we can succeed in this tournament,” Lucescu said.

“Our luck will return. Zenit are well prepared physically, that allows them to play quickly. They have excellent attacking players such as Danny.”