Champions League!
Thursday, August 26, 2021
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Shakhtar hosted AS Monaco in the second leg of the Champions League play-off round tie
The sides’ first leg ended in the Miners’ 1-0 away win which gave them a minimum advantage in the tie. Compared to the match in Monaco, the Miners’ head coach Roberto De Zerbi made two forced changes in the starting lineup: experienced Andriy Pyatov appeared between the sticks instead of the injured Trubin, with Alan Patrick replacing the injured Pedrinho behind the striker.
Visitors’ pressure
From the off, the AS Monaco players who had to level it, expectedly charged forward: they dominated possession and tried to put pressure on the Donetsk side all over the pitch. That kind of pressure bore fruit to the visitors: in the 18th minute Pyatov parried away Volland's near-corner attempt, with no one interfering with Ben Yedder’s finish into the almost unguarded net. The Miners tried to improve their buildup play, still failing to create any scoring opportunities near Nubel’s goal. Meanwhile, the Monegasques stepped it up again shortly before the break: Badiashile hit the post before Ben Yedder finished off Kayo's delivery and grabbed a double acouple of minutes later.
Marlos coming to the rescue
Having received the necessary instructions from De Zerbi in the dressing room, Shakhtar players appeared for the second half with a completely different attitude: they regained control started looking for chances at the edge of the visitors’ box. Solomon missed the target from a tight angle, and Marlon sent the ball high following a corner. In response, Ben Yedder was close to bagging another one, but Pyatov prevented the Frenchman from scoring a hat trick. The Shakhtar coaching staff refreshed the attacking third by fielding Marlos, with this substitution proving to be a real game changer. In the 74th minute, it was Marlos who rounded off a beautiful move orchestrated by Traore and Patrick to make it 1-2. The teams spent the dying minutes of normal time cautiously, with the Monegasques having the opportunity to turn it all in their favour, but for Marlon who blocked Volland's point-blank effort, with Pyatov parrying away the German striker's attempt! It was 2-2 on aggregate, with the teams going into extra time.
Own goal decided it all
In extra time, the rivals exchanged attacks, although they did not turn into real chances. Volland remained the visitors’ main threat, but he also shot wide of the mark. In the extra time, De Zerbi fielded Kryvtsov and Fernando, but the most active among Shakhtar players was Mykhailo Mudryk after making his European debut. He was persistently looking for his chance, and it was Mudryk’s cross in the 114th minute that took deflection off Aguilar right into the back of Monaco’s net - this goal was decisive!
3-2 - Shakhtar saw Monaco off in an incredible showdown to participate in the UEFA Champions League group stage! The draw will start at 19:00 in Istanbul on Thursday 26 August.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-2 (0-2) Monaco
Kharkiv, OSC Metalist, att: 26,697
Goals: 0-1 Ben Yedder (18’), 0-2 Ben Yedder (39’), 1-2 Marlos (74’), 2-2 Aguilar (114’ og)
Shakhtar: Pyatov (c), Dodo, Vitao (Kryvtsov, 101’), Marlon, Matvienko (Ismaily, 46’), Maikon, Marcos (Stepanenko, 86’), Tete (Marlos, 66’), Patrick, Solomon (Mudrik, 82’), Traore (Fernando, 101’)
Further details are available in the match centre.
Visitors’ pressure
From the off, the AS Monaco players who had to level it, expectedly charged forward: they dominated possession and tried to put pressure on the Donetsk side all over the pitch. That kind of pressure bore fruit to the visitors: in the 18th minute Pyatov parried away Volland's near-corner attempt, with no one interfering with Ben Yedder’s finish into the almost unguarded net. The Miners tried to improve their buildup play, still failing to create any scoring opportunities near Nubel’s goal. Meanwhile, the Monegasques stepped it up again shortly before the break: Badiashile hit the post before Ben Yedder finished off Kayo's delivery and grabbed a double acouple of minutes later.
Marlos coming to the rescue
Having received the necessary instructions from De Zerbi in the dressing room, Shakhtar players appeared for the second half with a completely different attitude: they regained control started looking for chances at the edge of the visitors’ box. Solomon missed the target from a tight angle, and Marlon sent the ball high following a corner. In response, Ben Yedder was close to bagging another one, but Pyatov prevented the Frenchman from scoring a hat trick. The Shakhtar coaching staff refreshed the attacking third by fielding Marlos, with this substitution proving to be a real game changer. In the 74th minute, it was Marlos who rounded off a beautiful move orchestrated by Traore and Patrick to make it 1-2. The teams spent the dying minutes of normal time cautiously, with the Monegasques having the opportunity to turn it all in their favour, but for Marlon who blocked Volland's point-blank effort, with Pyatov parrying away the German striker's attempt! It was 2-2 on aggregate, with the teams going into extra time.
Own goal decided it all
In extra time, the rivals exchanged attacks, although they did not turn into real chances. Volland remained the visitors’ main threat, but he also shot wide of the mark. In the extra time, De Zerbi fielded Kryvtsov and Fernando, but the most active among Shakhtar players was Mykhailo Mudryk after making his European debut. He was persistently looking for his chance, and it was Mudryk’s cross in the 114th minute that took deflection off Aguilar right into the back of Monaco’s net - this goal was decisive!
3-2 - Shakhtar saw Monaco off in an incredible showdown to participate in the UEFA Champions League group stage! The draw will start at 19:00 in Istanbul on Thursday 26 August.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-2 (0-2) Monaco
Kharkiv, OSC Metalist, att: 26,697
Goals: 0-1 Ben Yedder (18’), 0-2 Ben Yedder (39’), 1-2 Marlos (74’), 2-2 Aguilar (114’ og)
Shakhtar: Pyatov (c), Dodo, Vitao (Kryvtsov, 101’), Marlon, Matvienko (Ismaily, 46’), Maikon, Marcos (Stepanenko, 86’), Tete (Marlos, 66’), Patrick, Solomon (Mudrik, 82’), Traore (Fernando, 101’)
Further details are available in the match centre.