Marlos is at his best!

The Donetsk team continue their September game marathon and have already played the fourth match in the last 10 days. Compared to the Ukrainian Super Cup victory over Dynamo, the Miners’ head coach Roberto De Zerbi made quite a lot of changes to the starting lineup: Konoplia, Kryvtsov, Vitao and Korniienko appeared at the back; Marcos Antonio and Bondarenko operated in midfield; Solomon, Sikan and Tete played offensively.

Tie before the break

It was the Brazilian winger who was the most noticeable in the early stages of the game: Tete's first two scoring attempts were blocked by the defenders, with the third shot shattering the goalpost. The Orange-and-Blacks dominated possession, being able to convert their playing advantage in the 22nd minute, and not without the help of their opponents: Marlos delivered a cross into the centre of the penalty area, with Miroshnyk pushing the ball into the back of the own net, making it 1-0. The hosts could have immediately doubled the lead, but Marlos and Sikan failed to send home the cross of Marcos Antonio. However, Veres responded quickly enough: Pyatov parried away Nemchaninov's effort, but in the 30th minute the captain was powerless - Pasich equalized after intercepting the ball. Even before the break, the teams could have changed the equal score: Bondarenko finished his solo run with a pretty good attempt, but Nemchaninov rescued the visitors by knocking the ball off the goal line. Then Pyatov stopped another long-ranger by the same Nemchaninov.

Scored goal, two assists and Marlos’s pre-goal pass

The Miners managed to go in front again early in the second half: Marlos found Tete in the penalty area with an excellent pass, with the latter easily beating the goalkeeper to make it 2-1. The Rivne side tried to equalise again, but this time the Shakhtar defence did not make any mistakes, leaving the visitors next to zero chance. Only Panasenko's shot that was stopped by Pyatov is quite memorable, with a couple of threatening deliveries into the penalty area remaining without completion. Towards the end of the meeting, the Shakhtar players managed to excel again: Konoplia earned a spot-kick that was confidently converted by Marlos – 3-1. Throughout the second half, Roberto De Zerbi used all five substitutions by initially fielding Maycon and Traore, and then Ismaily, Mudryk and Bondar. And the final goal was orchestrated by the two players who left the bench: in the 86th minute, having received a pass from Marlos, Mykhailo Mudryk crossed it to the centre of the penalty area, with Lassina Traore finishing it off.

4-1 - Shakhtar beat Veres and are preparing for the Champions League clash. On Tuesday, September 28, the Miners will host the Italian champions Inter Milan at the NSC Olimpiyskiy. The game kicks off at 19:45. Tickets for the match are available at the stadium ticket office and online.

Shakhtar Donetsk 4-1 (1-1) Veres Rivne

Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, att: 6,014

Goals: 1-0 Miroshnyk (22’, og), 1-1 H. Pasich (30’), 2-1 Tete (55’), 3-1 Marlos (79’, pens), 4-1 Traore (86’)

Shakhtar: Pyatov (с), Konoplia, Kryvtsov, Vitao (Bondar, 84’), Korniienko (Ismaily, 71’), Marcos, Bondarenko (Maycon, 63’), Tete, Marlos, Solomon (Mudryk, 71’), Sikan (Traore, 63’)