Lucescu pleased with Shakhtar recovery

Kasper Hjulmand, Nordsjælland coach
The way the match turned out we had no chance to win it. We came out to the second half a bit shocked, not only by Shakhtar's equaliser to make it 1-1 but also by their second goal shortly before half-time. Those feelings meant we got a bad start to the second half.

In the break we agreed to use our frustrations in a positive way, and I think we had the chances but did not make use of them. Of course I am annoyed by the many goals we let in, but we should not forget that we also did a lot of things right in the match which we can take forward with us.

Mircea Lucescu, Shakhtar coach
I am very glad that we have ten points after five games, but our haul could be even better as we might even have had two more points. Our results both in the Champions League and the Ukrainian league are the best sign of our game. Our quality of football allows us to play spectacularly not only at home, but in away matches too.

We were very nervous at the beginning, as the players felt the pressure and realised the importance of these three points. It's totally unacceptable to make mistakes in such simple situations. We failed to capitalise on two perfect scoring chances and then let [Joshua] John deliver a cross which allowed Nordsjælland to score.

After the first half I asked my lads to play at a high level to show everyone that we are much stronger than our opponents. They fulfilled my request, as 8-3 could easily have been the final result. I am very pleased with our performance in the second half. We played good football and secured the three points that take us to the knockout stage.