Following Turkey's successful Europa League group stage win over Georgia, Turkish manager Montella spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on the game, his opponent Georgia and Turkey's future goals.
Speaking about the game that just ended, Montella exclaimed: "It was a final. Our supporters were fantastic, even in the tough moments of the game, they were always there for us. This victory belongs to them as well. Today I celebrate my 52nd birthday and this victory is undoubtedly the best birthday present I could have received." Meanwhile, Montella also pointed out his team's performance on the offensive end, "We had 22 shots on goal today, and although we need to improve our accuracy on goal, overall I am very satisfied with the team's performance." He mentioned that the players were a bit relaxed after the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) canceled Turkey's second goal, but he believes that this is a normal reaction in the game.
Montera spoke highly of his opponents, Georgia: "They are very tough in terms of physical confrontation and the team is very well organized. The Georgian team is aware of their strengths and weaknesses and can develop a game strategy accordingly. It's no coincidence that they were able to make it to the final round of the Eurocup."
Finally, Montella spoke about the Turkish team's goals, "This is the first time we've won our first game in the group stage of the Europa League, we haven't been able to break through the group stage in the last three Europa League tournaments, and the last time we didn't even score a single point. This time, our first goal was to win this game, and now we have done it. The next dream is to go on to win the next game and succeed in advancing to the knockout stage."
