Svensson praises togetherness after win vs Turku
Bo Svensson says Thursday's 4-1 win over FC Inter Turku that booked F.C. Copenhagen a place in the league phase of the UEFA Conference League was the deserved result after months of hard work.
The Lions had to win a European playoff last season to make the second qualifying round of this campaign's Conference League, and battle through FC Polissya, Debrecen and Turku to make the league phase.
Gabriel Pereira, Mads Emil Madsen, William Clem scored for the Lions on Thursday, with an own goal rounding off the performance.
And the head coach is happy to have got through to the next round of the competition.
"I'm very happy with the players' performance tonight," he said after the match in Parken. "We got back together nicely as a group after the Viborg game on Sunday, and it's not as easy as it might have seemed.
"Today we played with a very high intensity, and everyone showed a great willingness to run for each other, support each other and correct each other's possible mistakes. We also didn't allow anything in our defence, and that's why it was extra unfortunate with the penalty they got in a period when we had the game under good control.
"It's an unfortunate rule when the ball is deflected right in front of Beijmo and then hits him on the arm, and I'm not saying that because it went against us this time.
"But we reacted really well to their goal and quickly went into high pressure and won the ball and got back ahead relatively quickly again with two goals.
"F.C. Copenhagen is born to win titles and play in Europe, so it was nice and important for us to fulfil one of the goals of the season. Also considering that we have come a long way from eighth place in the spring, through the playoff at Brøndby in extra time, and then these three qualifying matches in a slightly uneven period with a small squad – where Polissya in particular were a really difficult opponent in our first qualifying round.
"But now we are here again, and we are all happy about that. We have to see what the draw brings. First of all, two Superliga home matches await in Parken next week, and even though there was a lot of good to take away from today, we still want to and must build on many areas of our game."
Draw and ticket information
The league phase will not begin until mid-October, and there will be a draw on Friday at 1pm CEST. Ticket information will follow.
Cardholders and subscribers can secure their permanent seat in Parken via their ticket package from Monday 31 August. FCK+ subscribers will get access to their seats on Thursday 3 September, before the public sale starts on 8 September.
You can buy an FCK+ subscription for 69 DKK a month (without commitment).