FC BATE Borisov head coach Viktor Goncharenko spoke modestly in a post-match press conference after his team’s 5-0 loss to FC Barcelona in the Champions League group stage. Though BATE had the home field advantage, the players failed to show their capability “against the best team in the world.”

“We were a bit bound by fear, made stupid mistakes, but it was a great experience,”  Goncharenko continued. Instead of feeling dejected, the coach took the match as a learning experience for his team. “We saw how to play football at first hand, how to work the ball, how to tackle opponents and so on.”

Goncharenko added that he couldn’t blame his team “despite the ugly result” and admitted that “our opponents’ name weighed heavily on the players, who failed to show their full potential.” However, he believes BATE would have performed better “if we had a handful of matches like this during the season, it would have been much easier for us”.

Ultimately, though, Goncharenko conceded that “as for Barcelona, they showed extreme pace and we just couldn’t cope with it.”

Source: uefa.com