Plzeň Crushed 0-3 in Belgrade, Captain Červ: "We Were Like Obedient Little Girls"

Football club Viktoria Plzeň suffered a crushing 0-3 defeat away in Belgrade, all but ending the Czech side's hopes of reaching the Europa League and leaving them fighting instead for a place in the lower-tier Conference League. After the match, one of Plzeň's defensive leaders, Lukáš Červ, made no attempt to hide his frustration and disappointment with the result.

"You can't play like that, whether it's the league or Europe"

"I feel awful. We wanted to bring back a good result ahead of the return leg, and 0-3 is definitely not that. A 0-2 loss would have been one thing, but defensively we were like headless chickens. I said that in the dressing room too. It all looked bad, and that led to the third goal. But what's done is done. You simply can't play like that — doesn't matter if it's the league, Europe, at home or away," the defender said.

According to him, the team is clearly losing its way and doesn't know how to fix the situation. "What we can change is the future — the return leg. We're stronger at home. Last season we also lost 0-3 away to Rangers, but beat them 2-1 at home. We need to completely reset. This is already the third time this season we've said this, but from tomorrow we have to remember: at home, we're capable of turning things around," Červ stressed.

14 goals conceded in five matches

The team's poor defensive record was the main talking point: over the last five matches across all competitions, Plzeň have conceded 14 goals. "That's bad, isn't it? On the first goal, we had nine men behind the ball, and it still got through and went in. We're like obedient little girls — opponents won't let themselves be treated like that when things get tense. They knock us down, foul us, risk a yellow card just to win the battle. And we don't do that! The first goal could have been prevented, there was poor communication. That wasn't a defensive system failure," the defender admitted.

He noted that the team's defensive collapse is especially worrying given that last season Plzeň's back line was considered one of the best in European competition. "Tell me how this can even happen... We're trying to play the same way as before, but the ball just keeps flying into our net. What's done is done. I admit, 14 goals conceded is a frightening number. From tomorrow, everyone needs to be focused on not conceding. But for that, everyone has to give absolutely everything — even put their head in the way of the ball. And that goes for everyone, from the first player to the last," Červ concluded.

Asked whether it's possible to overturn a 0-3 deficit at home in a week's time, the captain answered briefly: "It's possible."

Source: sport.cz