Early pressure

This is the fourth match in the recent 10 days for the Miners who are topping the Premier League table (53 points), which is why Luis Castro could not do without major squad rotation again. The captain Andriy Pyatov got back into goal, the defensive third changed almost completely, with Taison, Taras Stepanenko, and Junior Moraes playing from the off.

Demolishing start

With the referee’s starting whistle, the Orange-and-Blacks just bombarded the opposing goal with attempts and attacks, quickly achieving the desired result. Already in the 4th minute, Sergii Kryvtsov linked up to a corner delivery, confidently won an aerial challenge and headed it past the keeper – 1-0. Shortly, another delivery from the left-hand side ended in an accurate shot by Moraes – 2-0. As soon as the Dnipro outfit came to their senses, the hosts scored two more goals. At first, Taison finished off a move involving Maycon, Ismaily and Moraes with a clear shot right inside the far corner, then Yurchuk stopped an attempt by Tete, and Yevhen Konoplyanka successfully flicked it home. 4-0 by the middle of the first half implies an incredible performance by Shakhtar players! Before the break, Ismaily (above the crossbar) and Taison (beat the defenders and the keeper, but let the ball cross the sideline) could score even more goals, plus the opponents unexpectedly snapped back when Khoblenko seemed to drill the ball into the unguarded net, with Matviienko coming to his side’s rescue. Here are two more impressive figures: in the first half the Miners enjoyed 80% possession, with 8 out of 10 attempt being on target.

And calm continuation

The second half also began with danger near Dnipro-1’s goal. From an excellent position in the middle of the box, Maycon sent Taison’s pass just over the crossbar, followed by Yurchuk’s double save – he alternately parried away attempts by Tete and Taison. Meanwhile, both coaches gradually refreshed the play with substitutions: Luis Castro gave a chance to the young Valerii Bondar, Artem Bondarenko, and Fernando. The Brazilian, by the way, again operated as a centre-forward. The Orange-and-Blacks continued to play more actively offensively (Maycon’s free-kick hit the wall, while Fernando’s effort was denied by the goalkeeper), conceding a goal though. In the 82nd minute, the ball hit Bondar’s hand, with the referee pointing to the spot for a penalty which was converted by Supryaha.

4-1 - Shakhtar demolished Dnipro-1 and kept the 13-point lead over the competitors.

At 17:00 on Sunday, March 8, the Miners will play Kolos in the UPL. And on Thursday, March 12, the team of Luis Castro will set off for the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 first leg vs Wolfsburg.

Shakhtar Donetsk 4-1 (4-0) Dnipro-1

Kharkiv, OSK Metalist, att: 5,319

Goals: 1-0 Kryvtsov (4’), 2-0 Moraes (9’), 3-0 Taison (19’), 4-0 Konoplyanka (23’), 4-1 Supryaha (82’, pen.)

Shakhtar: Pyatov (c), Ismaily, Matviienko, Kryvtsov (Bondar, 60’), Dodo, Maycon, Stepanenko, Konoplyanka (Bondarenko, 70’), Taison, Tete, Moraes (Fernando, 74’)