In the 3rd round of the UEFA Europa League Group A League match played on October 13, Beijing time, Switzerland defeated Serbia 0-2. After the match, Swiss player Akanji was interviewed, reviewing and summarizing what happened in the match.
Speaking about Switzerland's second goal, Akanji said that the ball reached the touchline and he tried to follow its trajectory and try to block the near corner. However, his opponent Mitrovic showed excellent shooting skills and even though Akanji took a step towards him in an attempt to block it, Mitrovic scored from between his legs, a goal that was almost unstoppable for Swiss goalkeeper Kobel. Akanji applauded Mitrovic's shot, saying he hit the ball perfectly.
Talking about his team's overall performance, Akanji was honest and said that although he didn't want to use the pitch as an excuse, the conditions of the pitch did have an impact on his team's performance in this match. He bluntly stated that it was one of the worst pitches he has ever played on and that it was not easy to play on such a pitch. However, Akanji also emphasized that the team has to perform better and cannot rely solely on the pitch conditions as an excuse. He mentioned that the Swiss team played pretty well in the first 20 minutes, but then the performance dipped. According to Akanji, the team needs to analyze the performance of the match carefully as it was really not good enough this time and needs to improve in the future.
