Matjaž Kek was not exactly overflowing with satisfaction after the match against Austria: “I can live with this result, but our goal was of course to win”
Photo: YouTube (NZS) - screenshot
Marko Arnautović claims that he saw only one team, that wanted to win, while Slovenian coach Matjaž Kek did not want to engage in the debate about whether Austria truly deserved more. He admitted that Austria was statistically probably better than Slovenia, but in his opinion, given the chances created, the 1:1 draw was a completely realistic conclusion to the neighboring derby at the start of the new season of the Nations League.
“We had a tough match, but we can ‘live’ with this result. Both of us had a lot of problems with the difficult pitch, and we were too passive, especially in the first half. We were standing too far back and allowed the Austrians to easily outplay us in one-on-one situations, giving them an advantage in the midfield. When we stepped a bit closer in the second half or drew them into our style of play, certain situations opened up for us, but unfortunately, we reacted poorly two or three times,” Matjaž Kek said at the press conference after the match in Stožice.
The Maribor native, who was not allowed to sit on Slovenia’s bench due to a suspension from the Euro 2024, continued: “Considering the chances, the result is probably fair, even though the Austrians had the ball more at their feet and maybe had a certain initiative. But that is also part of our style of play… Despite not being complete and some players having visible issues with playing time, it was a match that offered a lot of rhythm back and forth, but we shouldn’t have gotten into that. The Austrians are strongest in that. I can live with this result, but our goal was of course to win. It’s a pity that after a good start, we dropped too much after 25 minutes.“
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
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