2024-02-15 22:17:09
After losing 2:3 in the opening match of the 2nd round of the Europa League at Galatasaray Istanbul, Sparta winger Adam Karabec admitted in an interview with journalists that he had never experienced such a stormy environment as the one at the Rams Park stadium in his career. He was surprised by the number of clear opportunities that his team created, which, according to him, does not usually happen even in the Czech league.
The fight between the two reigning champions of their respective countries was accompanied by an excellent atmosphere from the start, with 46,802 spectators in the audience. It manifested itself most clearly in the setup, when the fans let out a deafening whistle when the opponent was in possession of the ball. “I’ve never experienced such an environment. It was something surreal. I think we handled it correctly, that we weren’t scared by it. We wanted to play our game. Unfortunately, they have quality, so it didn’t quite work out,” said the 20-year-old Karabec.
The revenge for the sold-out Letná is scheduled for a week. “It’s definitely open. The environment here is not at all pleasant, but we performed well here. We didn’t even expect to create so many 100% chances. Sometimes we don’t even have those in the league. It can only be a motivation for us that we can win at home ,” pointed out the Spartan apprentice.
Danish coach Brian Priske’s men eliminated the deficit twice. Their second goal came when the home side played without suspended stopper Victor Nelsson from the 62nd minute. Despite the weakening, Galatasaray was rather threatening. And in the 80th minute, the forces on the field were equalized after Matěj Ryneš received the second yellow card in the match. The “Lions” then decided on the win in the first minute of regulation thanks to Mauro Icardi.
“I thought that after we had the power play, we would push them a little bit. But Galatasaray is a very mature team, they know how to play in such a situation. We didn’t create the kind of pressure that we wanted and had. They are a quality opponent.” said Karabec.
In the 65th minute, he was replaced by the recovered Lukáš Haraslín. “I have to say that watching it from the bench is even worse than from the pitch. You can influence it with some style on it, but not from the bench,” said the under-21 representative.