"It was a very stressful game. Both sides wanted to win. We wanted to win and secure 2nd place, while "Turan Tovuz" wanted to win and continue the fight for third place."

Idman.biz reports that this was said by "Zira" head coach Rashad Sadigov at the press conference after the match with "Turan Tovuz".

He commented on the 1:0 victory in the 33rd round of the Misli Premier League: "From the first minutes, there was great aggression, intense football, and a lot of struggle on the field. After 15-20 minutes, we slowly recovered our game and equalized the game. We started the second half more actively, caught the opponent on a counterattack and scored a goal. I think it's a beautiful and spectacular goal. After the red card, a completely different football started on the field. We had to fight and protect the score. In those minutes, the players were fighting relentlessly. They believed until the end, they were confident that we would not concede a goal. But we know that "Turan Tovuz" is a team that uses the advantage well. Long air passes, second balls as well. Without losing to the opponent in those components, we won an important victory and took second place. On this occasion, I sincerely congratulate our fans, players, and club management. For us, second place was extremely important this season. It is possible to achieve one success. But it is always difficult to keep and maintain it. This season was more difficult for us, the opponents played differently against us. Thank God we coped with this burden. We are going to the European Cup in 2nd place. This makes us very happy. I thank my players for their perseverance and professionalism throughout the season. We suffered a lot. There were games where our player's nose was broken, his cheekbone was broken, there were numerous injuries. Despite the difficulties, I always saw a team in the team that was moving forward with will and results. Thank God we finally achieved what we wanted."

Rashad Sadigov said that they will be able to make rotations in the squad after securing 2nd place: "The next period will be preparation for the European Cups. We will give more chances to those who play less, and we will give a little rest to those who are very tired. We will easily make Eurocup plans. Whether we will start the European Cups from the 1st or 2nd stage already depends on the cup final. Either we or "Sabah" will go to the Europa League. I wish both teams success. Both teams deserve to represent our country in the Europa League. Personally, the most important thing for me is second place. It is important to take 2nd place for two consecutive years in a championship where a team like "Qarabağ" is present. There was very serious competition. After the winter break, we were a stable team that won results, and the result was decided three rounds before the end. But it could have been completely different. 2nd place is a success for us this season."

It should be noted that "Zira" won silver medals for the second season in a row.

Idman.biz