Match report
Monday, August 17, 2020
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On 17 August, Shakhtar faced Inter in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals
Both teams confidently passed the previous knockout stages: the Miners knocked Benfica, Wolfsburg and Basel off the competition, while the Milanese cruised past Ludogorets, Getafe and Bayer 04. Both coach did not make any surprises in the starting lineups, fielding all the strongest performers for the moment. We want to note that Luis Castro again entrusted the left-back side to Mykola Matviienko, fielding David Khocholava at centre-back this time.
The only chance
The start of the match saw both sides operating in the most cautious way: Shakhtar players treasured the ball and controlled it in their own half, while the Milan side pressed high upfield and made it difficult for the Miners to make transitions from defence to attack. With that kind of play, the teams usually wait for the mistakes of their opponents, with the Italians being the first to get lucky. Andriy Pyatov knocked the ball away from goal inaccurately, Barella intercepted it and delivered it into the box from the right-hand side, with the onrushing Martinez heading it inside the bottom corner – 1-0. Immediately after that, nearly all of Antonio Conte's men dropped deep, making it really difficult for the Miners to overcome that kind of defence.
Effective counterplay
Inter continued playing and keeping a somewhat lower profile, not missing the opportunity to carry out some smashing counterattacks though. Early in the second half, Pyatov saved Martinez’ lobbed ball, with Lukaku sweeping the ball and directing it just inches off the post. Shakhtar responded to this with their super chance: Junior Moraes headed Matviienko's cross from the left wing right into Handanovic's palms. In the very next attack, the Nerazzurri doubled the score: D'Ambrosio netted a header following a corner-kick. The Miners had no choice but to make some all-out attacks, exposing their defensive ranks, which the opponents took advantage of to bag three more goals (Martinez's goal and Lukaku's double). Shakhtar lost to Inter, finishing their Europa League campaign at the semifinal stage.
The Miners will have no break between seasons, and on August 21 they will open the new Ukrainian League season with a home match against Kolos. The fixture will take place at the NSC Olimpiyskiy and start at 19:00.
Inter Milan 5-0 (1-0) Shakhtar Donetsk
Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf Arena, behind closed doors
Goals: 1-0 Martinez (19’), 2-0 D'Ambrosio (64’), 3-0 Martinez (74’), 4-0 Lukaku (78’), 5-0 Lukaku (84’)
Shakhtar: Pyatov (c), Matviienko, Khocholava, Kryvtsov, Dodo, Stepanenko, Marcos Antonio, Alan Patrick (Solomon, 59’), Taison, Marlos (Konoplyanka, 75’), Moraes
More details are available in the match centre.