Rubin’s Berdyev blames lack of fitness for Olympiacos defeat

Rubin Kazan head coach Kurban Berdyev claimed his players’ lack of match fitness was the reason behind Europa League play-off first-leg defeat against the Greek outfit Olympiacos.

«From the start we saw that Olympiacos players are in good shape, they are improving with each game, unlike us. But psychologically speaking we are not out of it yet, the boys said that in the dressing room,» said the manager.

«I wouldn’t say that we failed to maintain the pace and movement at the opponent’s level. We expected them to play at high tempo and pressurise us. But we needed time to adapt and began to improve after the break,» he added.