17.08.2026 16:22
Fenerbahçe Technical Director İsmail Kartal made statements before the Lyon match. Responding to a question about Romelu Lukaku, the experienced coach said, "His current situation is positive. He is working very hard. I will talk to him today and evaluate him after training for tomorrow's match."
Fenerbahce Technical Director Ismail Kartal made statements at a press conference before the UEFA Champions League play-off round match against Lyon. The experienced coach also answered a question about the condition of new transfer Romelu Lukaku.
"OUR ONLY GOAL IS AN ADVANTAGEOUS SCORE"
Commenting on the tough match, Ismail Kartal said, "We had a very good day with our players as a team. We stayed at the facilities and analyzed Lyon. Today, we will do our final preparations as well. Tomorrow, with the support of our fans, we want to get an advantageous score. This is our only goal!"
"THAT MATCH IS BEHIND US"
Stating that they are not dwelling on the Genclerbirligi match played in the league, Ismail Kartal said, "We are not thinking about our last match. Everyone knows how we got here. We are not dwelling too much on the last match. I trust the team and my players. We are looking at today and tomorrow. That match is behind us. We haven't been able to qualify for the Champions League for 18 years; we see this not as pressure but as an opportunity."
ROMELU LUKAKU'S LATEST SITUATION
Ismail Kartal, responding to a question about whether new transfer Romelu Lukaku, who was added to the UEFA list, would play against Lyon, said, "His current situation is positive. He is working very hard. I will talk to him today and evaluate him for tomorrow's match after training. Lukaku is a very positive kid. He is a good professional who loves to work. He can speak 6 languages; he came to me and said, 'Coach, I will learn Turkish, in 3 months we will speak Turkish,' and I said okay. He is confident. Of course, he has deficiencies; he is not 100% ready. He is on the European list and will be in the squad for tomorrow's match. We can use him depending on the flow of the match."