Important points

For both teams, this match was important in terms of the league table standing: the Miners needed a victory to continue the title race, a positive result would have brought the Chernihiv side closer to the top three UPL leaders. Luis Castro made several changes in the squad compared to the European match: Sergii Kryvtsov and Valerii Bondar appeared at centreback, with Mykola Matviienko playing at left-back. We also want to mention the appearance in the starting line-up of Marcos Antonio and Manor Solomon who positionally replaced Marlos and Taison.

Maximum caution

Shakhtar seized the initiative from the very first minutes and created a spectacular early chance - Junior Moraes attempted a bicycle kick just to see tha ball end up in the hands of Past. Desna traditionally set up a compact defensive block, basing it around some reliable defensive play. For a long time, the hosts’ moves lacked finishing, but in the 33rd minute Imerekov fouled on Kryvtsov, and after reviewing VAR the referee decided to award a spot-kick. Tete converted it through a precision shot inside the right corner – 1-0. The Chernihiv side immediately responded with a dangerous counterattack culminating in Hutsulyak’s effort towards the near post - Trubin reached out and kicked the ball for a corner. And a minute away from the break, the goalpost rescued the hosts by stopping Totovytskyi’s attempt.

Unstoppable duo

The beginning of the second half turned out to be rather calm: the team of Luis Castro did not force events, expecting more action from the opponents, while the Chernihiv side did not look eager enough to make any all-out attacks. The first chance occurred only midway through the second half: after a corner kick and Patrick's attempt, Polehenko stopped the ball on the goal line. And the next dangerous attack turned into a scoring one: in the 75th minute, Manor Solomon completed a beautiful move with the participation of the substitutes Marlos and Dentinho – he fired the ball past Past to make it 2-0. Less than a couple of minutes later, the Israeli scored a double: he sent the keeper the wrong way from the corner from the goal area. Tete also decided to keep up with his attacking teammate: in the 80th minute, the Brazilian beat four (!) opponents and rolled it inside the far corner.

4-0 – through the goals by Tete and Solomon, Shakhtar thrashed Desna and continue competing for the top spot in the table. The Miners will play their next match on Thursday, 18 March. In the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 return leg, they will meet with the Italian Roma in Kyiv. The game at the NSC Olimpiyskiy kicks off at 19:55. The tickets are on sale now.

Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 (1-0) Desna Chernihiv

Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, att: 3,802

Goals: 1-0 Tete (34’ pen), 2-0 Solomon (75’), 3-0 Solomon (77’), 4-0 Tete (80’)

Shakhtar: Trubin, Dodo, Kryvtsov (c), Bondar, Matviienko, Maycon, Marcos (Marlos 60’), Patrick (Sudakov 82’), Tete (Taison 82’), Solomon (Konoplyanka 82’), Moraes (Dentinho 71’)