Bright restart!

The Ukrainian Championship has resumed after two and a half months of quarantine with the classic encounter between Shakhtar and Dynamo. Before the match, the opponents were 13 points apart in the table (the Miners had 59 points, the Kyiv team had 46 points), having just a fortnight to prepare for the meeting. We want to mention that the match was held at the NSC Olimpiyskiy in the capital, behind closed doors and in line with a strict medical protocol.

Lively game

Obviously missing big-time football, the opponents got off to a busy start, displaying pretty good performance quality. Early in the game, Rusin checked Pyatov’s reflexes with a long-range attempt (followed by the keeper’s spectacular save), while the hosts responded with Taison’s shot from outside the penalty area. Midway through the first half, the ball flew into the back of Shakhtar’s net, but Yekaterina Monzul disallowed the goal after watching the VAR replay, registering a foul by Popov. Although, the opponents scored more before the break. First, in the 38th minute, Buyalskyi opened the scoring by heading the right-flank delivery home. With the Miners’ response following up immediately - Taison brought the ball to the penalty area and fed Marlos who played one-two with Moraes and swept it home from the penalty arc.

Marlos’ class and Marcos’ motivation

In the second half, Shakhtar continued playing on top and carrying out some blistering attacks, while Dynamo tried to meet them with pressing high and relied on set-pieces. The Orange-and-Blacks’ tactic proved to be more successful: at the 67th minute, Dodo fired a cross into the penalty area, Moraes fed Marlos again, with the latter grabbing a brace and bringing his team in front. Shortly after that, Luis Castro’s substitution bore fruit - Marcos Antonio who appeared early in the second half, helped Ismaily to launch a counterattack and finished it off himself, making it 3-1. The motivation of the young Brazilian immediately became clear after he had put the ball under his shirt and made a distinctive sign that he was preparing to be a father. Meanwhile, the Kyiv outfit could find neither strength nor motivation  for competing further: their high balls were easily recognized by the defenders, with Pyatov coping with long-range strikes.

3-1 - Shakhtar defeated Dynamo in style in their first match after the restart of the season. The Miners will play their next match against Chernihiv-based Desna on June 6th. The game will also take place in Kyiv, it kicks off at 17:00.

Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 (1-1) Dynamo Kyiv

Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, behind closed doors

Goals: 0-1 Buyalskyi (38’), 1-1 Marlos (39’), 2-1 Marlos (67’), 3-1 Marcos Antonio (74’)

Shakhtar: Pyatov (c), Ismaily, Matviienko, Kryvtsov, Dodo, Alan Patrick (Konoplyanka, 85’), Stepanenko, Taison (Solomon, 85’), Kovalenko (Marcos Antonio, 53’), Marlos (Tete, 76’), Moraes (Fernando, 76’)

More details are available in the match centre.