Manuel Tulipa after 1–4 defeat to Sparta: “Our goal is to earn 8–9 points in the Europa League”

Ararat-Armenia head coach Manuel Tulipa reflected on the opening match of the UEFA Europa League league phase against Sparta Prague.

The match took place in Yerevan on September 16 and ended in a 4–1 victory for the Czech club. The game was a historic one for Armenian football, as it marked the first time a club from Armenia had played in the main stage of the Europa League.

After the match, Tulipa answered journalists’ questions, explained the reasons for the defeat, commented on the performances of Edgar Grigoryan and Artur Serobyan, spoke about Hugo Oliveira’s role, and stated that the team’s objective in the Europa League remains unchanged.

Manuel Tulipa’s press conference after Ararat-Armenia vs Sparta

— At the start of the match, the team conceded two goals from corners. Was that because of the opponents’ height advantage, or could the team have defended those situations better?

— Overall, we started the match well and created several good chances. If we had managed to score early in the game, perhaps everything would have turned out completely differently.

We did indeed have problems defending set pieces. We studied this aspect before the match and knew that our opponents were very strong in the air. We still need to improve in these situations. At the same time, we have to admit that Sparta are genuinely very good at set pieces.

— What did Ararat-Armenia lack in order to achieve a positive result?

— The reason is quite clear: the opponents were very good and, in some aspects, were clearly superior to us in terms of quality. The fact that we did not convert our chances at the beginning of the match also played a role. After conceding two goals, it became much more difficult to get back into the game.

In certain moments, their superiority was very significant. Sparta pressed very well, which made it difficult for us to build our attacks from the back.

Of course, we did not go onto the pitch intending to lose — nobody wants that. But I also saw positive things in our performance. We have to be ready for the next Europa League matches. This is a competition at a very high level, and there will be no easy games here.

— Edgar Grigoryan had a very difficult match. In the first half, he struggled against the opposition wingers. Would it have been better to substitute him at half-time?

— It was indeed a difficult match for him. But we have to understand who he was playing against. Mercado was operating on his flank. Do you know how much Sparta paid for that player? Four million euros.

We have to be prepared for the fact that we will continue to face players of this level. We need to deal with them through our collective team effort.

Now we need to analyse this match and review certain moments. I also have to take my own mistakes into account. After the game, I realised that perhaps we should have used a five-man defence so that Grigoryan could have had more cover.

I now understand that if we had defended in a low block and played with five defenders, the opponents might have had more problems. But I do not want this result to break us. We still have a long way to go.

— Hugo Oliveira has reached a new level recently and is now one of the main central midfielders. Will you continue to use him in this position after Kamo Hovhannisyan returns and once Juan Balanta regains full fitness?

— First of all, I want to stress the incredible importance of Kamo Hovhannisyan to our team. We included him in the Europa League squad because he was recovering from an injury, but Kamo recently suffered another injury.

Balanta is also very important to us, but he has missed a lot of time because of an injury that had already been troubling him since last season.

Hugo Oliveira is doing very well in his new role. He works effectively without the ball and is also very good at starting our attacks.

At the same time, I also want to mention the other midfielders. Carlier, Hambardzumyan and Tera have also been playing well. As for your question, yes — I will continue to use Oliveira in central midfield.

— Why did Ararat-Armenia have significantly less possession in the first half?

— Despite having less possession, the game was more balanced in some other statistical areas, for example in terms of goalscoring chances created.

Of course, we want to control the ball as much as possible, but the opponents were pressing aggressively with five players. It is very difficult to maintain possession against Sparta under such conditions.

After Balanta came on, the situation improved somewhat.

— Continuing with Edgar Grigoryan: we can see that Artur Serobyan regularly drops deep on the flank and helps Bueno, while Zidan Banjaki does not help Grigoryan defensively as often. Is that your instruction for Zidan to stay higher up the pitch?

— Karen Muradyan operates closer to the left side in midfield and helps the left-back more often. Because of that, the winger does not always need to drop quite so deep.

But overall, the opposition’s wide players were very strong, and we were not always able to deal with them. Hugo Oliveira, for example, also had to help Bueno.

As for Artur Serobyan, I think he played a fantastic match.

We also have to take the team’s workload into account. In August, we played nine matches, which is a huge number at this stage of the season. In addition, we were without Kamo Hovhannisyan throughout that period. That was also one of the reasons for our problems on the flanks.

— After the draw, Armenian fans and journalists began calculating how many points the team might collect in the league phase, and many saw the match against Sparta as one of the opportunities to add to the points tally. After this defeat, paradoxical as it may sound, could the pressure on the team decrease and allow the players to perform with more freedom?

— No. I do not want us to play without pressure. We must always feel responsibility because we are competing in Europe’s second-most prestigious club competition.

When I analysed the draw, I realised that we could earn 8–9 points, and that remains our goal.

At the same time, I knew from the beginning how difficult the match against Sparta would be. My daughter lives in Prague and often attends their matches, so I know Sparta well and understand the financial resources this club has.

In reality, we had opportunities to achieve a different result if we had converted our chances. But that is football. In any case, our objective has not changed.

— Your goalkeeper João Bravim was one of the team’s best players during qualification, but today he conceded four goals. How would you assess his performance? Was he at fault for any of the goals?

— I do not think the goalkeeper was to blame for the goals we conceded. The first two goals came as a result of mistakes in our defending, and the responsibility for that lies with me.

Overall, I am satisfied with Bravim’s performance. When the team loses, the responsibility always lies with the head coach.

We also have to understand that this was a match at a very high level. It was an open and entertaining game. Perhaps we could have chosen a more defensive approach, and then the result might have been different.

But I am the one who decides how the team should play, so the responsibility for the result lies entirely with me.

Artur Serobyan named Ararat-Armenia’s best player against Sparta