Victorious return

The Miners approached the match with significant personnel losses: due to positive tests for coronavirus, a large group of leading players self-isolated. That is why the starting lineup featured those who were fully ready (we want to mention the appearance of Dentinho as a central striker from the off), with four U21 players at once sitting on the bench. Both teams took to the field wearing T-shirts with the Legend Forever! lettering as a tribute to Serhii Atelkin.

Instant result

18 minutes. This is the time Luis Castro's men needed to secure the win. First, Viktor Kovalenko got on the end of Tete’s cross on the goal line to open the scoring – 1-0. Then Marcos Antonio headed Dodo’s high ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0. Then Dentinho completed a beautiful move of his teammates and fired it right inside the corner from an 11-metre range, making it 3-0. A minute later, Viktor Kovalenko took advantage of Khocholava's pass across half the field, found himself one on one and lobbed the ball past the keeper – 4-0. Kovalenko's injury overshadowed the bright beginning, causing his substitution by Solomon midway through the first half. In the 25th minute, the visitors found some moral strength to pull one back (Shyna scored after a corner-kick), but the Lviv team failed to achieve any significant changes. On the contrary, even before the break, Dentinho (the ball narrowly missed the top corner) and Tete (his attempt went wide) could have got their names on the scoresheet. Korniienko had an excellent last-minute chance: Viktor was alone in the penalty area, but Kostyk managed to stop his shot, with Kravchuk clearing a finish off the goal line (in that episode, the officials did not notice a Lviv defender’s handball). In stoppage time, the away goalkeeper did not allow Solomon to excel by spectacularly saving the Israeli's free-kick attempt.

Full control

The second half also started with an early goal by the Orange-and-Blacks: Marcos Antonio launched a counterattack and fed Manor Solomon who planted a stunning bent ball into the far corner, making it 5-1. Well, there was no scoring continuation: the hosts confidently controlled the ball, while Lviv did not succeed in the opposing half. We can only recall the dangerous attempts by Koshmar and Klymenchuk – Anatolii Trubin’s play was clinical on both occasions. In the 75th minute, Vladyslav Vakula came on for the Donetsk team for the first time after his injury –he could have marked his return with a goal, but his attempt just whizzed over the crossbar. 5-1 - Shakhtar claimed a crushing victory over Lviv.

On October 21st, the Miners will start their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign. In the first round, the team of Luis Castro will play Real Madrid away. The match kicks off at 19:55.

Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 (4-1) Lviv

Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, behind closed doors

Goals: 1-0 Kovalenko (4’), 2-0 Marcos (9’), 3-0 Dentinho (17’), 4-0 Kovalenko (18’), 4-1 Shyna (25’), 5-1 Solomon (50’)

Shakhtar: Trubin, Dodo, Bondar, Khocholava, Korniienko (Cipriano 58’), Maycon, Marcos (Bolbat 58’), Marlos (c), Kovalenko (Solomon 24’), Tete, Dentinho (Vakula 75’)