The Russian defender praised the former Sporting Lisbon manager and lamented their shocking UEFA Europe League defeat against Athletic Bilbao.
In the latest round of Russian Premier League action, Lokomotiv Moscow managed to win 2-0 against Kuban Krasnodar at Lokomotiv stadium.
Dmitri Sychev admitted that though the Railroaders made defensive mistakes during the second period, they deserved to claim all three points owing to their superior first half performance.
He praised Jose Couceiro, revealing that the Portuguese tactician has assembled a decent squad and the entire team is shaping well at the moment. Sychev revealed that the Moscow-based club aim to claim a European spot next
season.
“A couple of years ago, Lokomotiv were divided into fractions but now things are going perfectly well. And all the credit goes to Couceiro.” The Russian stopper was quoted as saying.
Athletic Bilbao managed to progress to the UEFA Europa League round-of-16 with much trouble. The Moscow-based club won the first leg 2-1 against the Lions at Luzhniki stadium and recorded a 1-0 win at home, thus winning
the tie 2-2 on aggregate.
Lokomotiv could have played the pre-quarter-final against Manchester United had they won against Athletic. Speaking on their European form, Sychev lamented their European elimination by expressing his disappointment at losing
out on a chance to play against the Red Devils.
The former Spartak Tambov player went on to express his surprise on the Railroaders' poor European performance and admitted that they did not deserve to win the away leg.
Sychev revealed that Lokomotiv missed a decent opportunity to better the opposition despite having a one-goal advantage over the Lions.
The 28-year-old, who played 8 European games this season, defended their poor European performances, revealing that the Parovozy have a very young squad and the players lacked European experience.
“We both played on equal terms. Athletic were supported by their fans from the stands. I am a little disappointed because I wanted to play against Manchester United.” Sychev said.
Tags: