First win

After eight days of training in Austria, the Miners had their first friendly game. The opponents represented the local club St. Johann.

Debuts and innovations

Given the large number of players taking part in the training camp, Roberto De Zerbi fielded two different lineups in the first and second halves. This summer’s newcomers Marlon, Pedrinho and Lassina Traore were included in the starting XI. The central defender appeared under the number 26, the Brazilian has his usual number 38 that he also had at Corinthians and Benfica, and the forward appeared under the number 23. We also want to mention that in the summer the following players changed their numbers: Vitao (3), Viktor Korniienko (44) and Maycon (7).

The Miners wore all-black kits from the regular Puma collection - this is another innovation in their preparation for the season. And the presentation of Shakhtar’s exclusive kits is scheduled for July 15th.

Outclassing solutions

With the starting whistle, the best practices from the training process were being embodied on the pitch. Shakhtar tried to find space and enter it through constant movement and set play. Already in the 2nd minute, Tete sent home Korniienko’s cross, then they brought Mudryk through on target for Mykhailo to lob the ball over the keeper, and a little later Traore completed the attack by sending home Dodo’s assist – 3-0. The difference in the class of teams just contributed to such development of events. The Orange-and-Blacks dominated possession and almost permanently attacked the opposing goal with the continuous support of central defenders. In the 24th minute, they netted the fourth one when Traore provided an assist and Korniienko flicked it inside the far corner. In another episode, Tete, Traore and Patrick - without being egoistic at all which might be the case in a competitive game - did not try to score from advantageous positions and brought the ball to Pedrinho only to see the Brazilian miss the target.

Changed line-up & ball-handling pace

In the second half, another 11 players got a chance to prove themselves, in particular, Konoplya, Mampassi, Ocheretko, Tankovskyi and Bondarenko who are back from loan. Dentinho spearheaded attacks with the captain's armband on. Once again, it was clear how quickly players need to think and make decisions while having possession. The ball doesn’t just stay by the feet, but moves through one or two touches, with the team having to react to losing it immediately. It is noteworthy that Tankovskyi received in this formation a more attacking role, with the ball being played in midfield through Marcos and Bondarenko, with Ocheretko performing his regular role on the right-hand side. And he had his chances, but the goal came from the left flank: the onrushing Cipriano once again crossed the ball, with Dentinho edging past his opponents by the near corner to hit the back of the net – 5-0.

Thus, 20 outfield footballers and two goalkeepers were involved in the first friendly game. On Thursday, Roberto De Zerbi will give the team a day off to recover, resuming work the following day. The next friendly has been scheduled for July 4th vs the Polish Rakow.

Shakhtar 5-0 Sankt Johann

Goals: 1-0 Tete (2’), 2-0 Mudryk (7’), 3-0 Traore (10’), 4-0 Korniienko (24’), 5-0 Dentinho (71’)

Shakhtar (1st half): Puzankov, Dodo, Vitao, Marlon, Korniienko, Maycon, Tete, Pedrinho, Alan Patrick, Mudryk, Traore

Shakhtar (2nd half): Hrytsenko, Konoplya, Mampassi, Khocholava, Cipriano, Marcos Antonio, Ocheretko, Bondarenko, Tankovskyi, Solomon, Dentinho