Kartal stated, "We started really well tonight. We quickly found ourselves 2-0 up. Then it came back to 2-2. Because of how it happened, we disappointed our fans and upset them. We are even more upset. After all, this is a Champions League match. All our players did their best. We played against a very good team. They are physically very strong. Despite this, we had 2-3 very clear chances, especially in the first half. Even though we gave the opponent very few chances, the match ended 2-2. This was something we did not want. We are sorry for disappointing our fans," he said.
Explaining that the reason for waiting to make player substitutions was due to the mandatory substitution used in the first half, the experienced coach said, "We made a substitution because of Ake's injury. We had the option to make two substitutions in the second half. That is why we waited. We waited for İrfan and İsmail until the end. We had no other moves left," he expressed.
"Ake felt a pull in his hamstring"
Speaking about the condition of Nathan Ake, who left the game due to injury, the 65-year-old manager said, "Today, Ake felt a pull in his hamstring. We took him out so as not to strain it further. He will have an MRI tomorrow to see if there is a tear and what degree of strain it is. The medical team will make a statement on this accordingly," he said.
"Kerem helped the team defense more than Oğuz"
Explaining why he took out Oğuz Aydın instead of Kerem Aktürkoğlu, İsmail Kartal said, "Kerem helped the team defense more than Oğuz. Oğuz has been playing constantly for the last 3-4 matches. He got very tired in the second half and started to be unable to fulfill some of our requests. Kerem may not have contributed to the score, but he did very good work for the team. Since we know them, we kept Kerem in the game and took Oğuz out," he noted.
"We will prepare for the Galatasaray match in the best way possible"
Speaking about the Galatasaray derby to be played in the league, the experienced coach said, "We are a big team. We are used to derbies. We will work very well over the next 5 days and prepare for the Galatasaray match in the best way possible. We will do our best to make our fans happy," he stated.
"These things happen in football"
Addressing the fans' calls for his resignation, İsmail Kartal concluded his remarks by saying, "These things happen in football. Today they chanted for resignation. I wish it hadn't happened, but it did. We are looking ahead. We have a very important match ahead of us. We will win that. We will win the upcoming matches and make peace with our fans."
News Source: 12punto
