Rui Motta is of the opinion that Ludogorets fully deserved to continue to the third round of the Champions League qualifiers, Topsport reported. The Portuguese spoke after a 3:1 win against the Croatians. This result came after extra time.
"First, we are happy with what we saw. We had control of the game, we had the better chances, maybe 5-6 in the regular 90 minutes. Rijeka scored with their first opportunity. I think we are the deserved winner today. It is not easy to play in a match against an opponent with one or two fewer men. We tried to get the ball out on both flanks, they defended superbly. In the second extra time we started to do it faster. From the sidelines it looks easy to play against 9 men, but it's not like that," said the Portuguese.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but at 1:0, Caio hit the post. We also scored a goal that was disallowed. After that, Rijeka really defended with everyone behind the ball. These tournaments are very difficult. We have courage and heart. We have to thank our incredible fans, they deserve this success".
"Another very difficult opponent. We have to work so that they don't appear to be the favorite. At every moment we have to leave our heart for the club and the fans", concluded Mota about the next opponent in the Champions League - Ferencváros.
Midfielder Jakub Piotrowski, who will continue his career in Udinese, said:
"We deserved this victory. I am glad that this period ended well for me, I wanted it to happen like this. There are a lot of emotions in my soul. I spent three full years in Razgrad, we had our ups and downs, but I am happy with the way I am parting with Ludogorets", Piotrovski began.
"I always behave professionally, I knew I had to play the game. I didn't want to think about what was next. I think I showed some of my best things in this game, it wasn't difficult to stay focused, I wanted to give something back to Ludogorets", the Polish midfielder continued.
"In these three years, we won three titles, we lost only one Bulgarian Cup. I am leaving as the champion of Bulgaria. We achieved good things and I finished in a great way", concluded Jakub Piotrovski after his last match with the Ludogorets team.
Ivaylo Chochev, who came on as a substitute and was a hero for Ludogorets against Rijeka, was very pleased that his team eliminated the Croatian champion.
It was Chochev who scored the second goal in extra time to put the "eagles" ahead, and before that his goal was disallowed due to Stanislav Ivanov being offside.
"A rather difficult match against the Croatian champion. After 1:1 we lost our rhythm of play, before that we were doing well. For the second consecutive match we have to play extra time, which requires effort and shows fatigue", Chochev began.
"The instructions were to be close to the penalty area. To strive to be there when crossing and passing to help the team. I'm glad that happened. Jakub will be missed a lot by our team, an exceptional person. Maybe at first it will be difficult for us without him, but I'm happy for him. He's going to one of the best championships, where I've played. He's going to play against strong teams, nice stadiums and he deserves it", continued Chochev.
"We have a very difficult match against Ferencváros, but first we have a match from the championship. The coaches will show us their strengths and I hope we can congratulate ourselves on success", concluded Ivaylo Chochev.