„I don’t know if you noticed, so I want to talk about it publicly,“ – N. Petković began the traditional interview, inviting L. Antalis to join the journalist.
„This happened to me for the first time,“ continued the Žalgiris Serbian. „The referee awarded a penalty, and L. Antalis was still on the field. He is a Žalgiris legend, having played more than 200 matches, scored over 100 goals, and usually takes penalties for the team.
I was on the wing at that moment, and he ordered a substitution so I could enter the field, take the penalty, and try to become the top scorer of the team this season.“
Interview with N. Petković and L. Antalis from 2:10:33:
Just after rising from the bench, N. Petković did not miss and equalized the score (2:2), and finally added the decisive header in added time, securing a very important victory for Žalgiris in the Top League.
„Because of such a gesture from L. Antalis, I scored the second goal as well. He is the MVP of today’s match. I lack words to describe what he did. Thank you, brother, for everything,“ said the Žalgiris forward from Serbia, shaking hands with L. Antalis standing nearby.
– These are my third years here, and it is a real pleasure to watch how L. Antalis plays, scores goals, and advises, helps teammates, even if he is not initially planned to enter the field. Thank you for these examples. And thank you for what you did today.“
Having recovered from a serious knee injury, the 29-year-old forward has recently been scoring goals consistently – he has scored 8 in the last 6 matches.
With 10 accurate shots, N. Petković is currently the top scorer in the Top League, and Žalgiris, which started the season slowly, has risen to 2nd place and has the same number of points (34) as Kauno Žalgiris, who has played one match less.
This week the capital team will also play in Europe – on Thursday they will try to take revenge at home against Tbilisi Dinamo from Georgia, to whom they lost 0:3 away.
„Such character as in these matches is needed everywhere – not only in Europe. Of course, the next matches await us in Europe and they are the most important. We have to believe, give everything we have. And try to change the story of the last matches,“ said L. Antalis.
– Also, thanks to Niko for his words. I am very happy for him. He deserves it. I know how hard he suffered last year when he had that injury (anterior cruciate ligament, – ed.).
I know he is one of the best players here and that he can achieve what he said himself – to become the top scorer.“
37-year-old L. Antalis has already played 208 matches for Žalgiris and scored 109 goals. He is the most prolific foreign player in the history of the capital club, and is close to the absolute team record.
The all-time top scorer of Vilnius Žalgiris is currently considered to be Vytautas Dirmeikis. The forward from Telšiai played for Žalgiris from 1970 to 1981 and scored 117 times in 336 matches.
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The first Žalgiris goal in Raudondvaris on Monday evening was scored by L. Antalis, who converted his 5th penalty this season (he missed two others).
