Sport Arena names the symbolic team of the next UPL round of the 2022/23 season
Goalkeeper – Dmitry Riznyk (Vorskla)
With a minimal advantage and in a quantitative minority, Vorskla managed to win the first victory in the new season in a match with Ingulets. It is impossible to say that Skripnik’s premiere victory was easy. The Poltava team is indebted to Riznyk, who helped out after difficult shots by Kukharuk and Zaporozhets, and also played convincingly in several episodes when the ball was thrown in front of his goal. By the way, Dmitri held the second consecutive “dry” match.
Right back – Igor Kiryukhantsev (Zorya)
An outstanding tour for the right flanks of the UPL clubs – eight players from the right edge were noted for effective actions at once. So we include right-back Kiryukhantsev in the team of the tour, who made his debut in Zorya with two goals in the match with Kryvbas. Igor played in conjunction with Danchenko higher on the flank, in a 4-3-3 formation, acting as a right winger. Thus, van Leeuwen immediately found a use for his newcomer.
Central defender – Roman Didyk (Rukh)
A very difficult match for the Lviv defensive line, which made a lot of mistakes (especially in the first half of the opening match of the renovated Veres Arena). However, Rukh on strong-willed qualities leveled the game and managed to recoup. The final score of the meeting shortly after the break was set just by the defender of the guests Didyk, who successfully connected on the free kick from Talles. This is the debut goal of 19-year-old Roman in the Premier League.
Central defender – Igor Kurilo (Metalist 1925)
Kharkiv defenders faced very serious challenges in the match against Kolos. Firstly, this is the removal of the left-back Kapinus already in the first third of the game (he then had to work out about 70 minutes of playing time for him). Secondly, the high individual level of the experienced leaders of the Kovalevites posed particularly difficult tasks for the defense and the goalkeeper of Metalist 1925. Together they fought back, having managed to defend their advantage in the minority.
Left back – Bohdan Mykhailychenko (Shakhtar)
Playing under a player like Mudrik is a tough challenge for a fullback. Mykhailychenko coped with it, although sometimes it was hard – especially in the second half, when, firstly, the Pitmen themselves could not brush aside the understanding that everything had been done in the match, and secondly, the Kharkiv team released fast players from the bench.
Central midfielder – Dmitry Klets (Veres)
A bright free-kick by Klec, which forced even such a jumping goalkeeper as Pankiv to capitulate, captivated the fans. Even with the presence of Dakhnovsky, who completely outplayed his opponents before the break, Veres’ fans recognized Dmitry as the best player of the match. We also note that Klets, together with Kucherov, performed a large amount of work, which made it possible not to lose control even after the second goal of the opponents.
Right midfielder – Viktor Tsygankov (Dynamo)
A difficult match in Transcarpathia showed the limited resources of the grand – Lucescu partially reshuffled the squad, and this has already significantly affected the reliability and balance of the game of the Kiev team. It’s good that they have such a trump card as Tsygankov. Knowing how to play outside the box, Viktor aggravated Dynamo during attacks, and caught the winning ball on his foot in a completely ordinary game episode. These three points are with Tsygankov’s personalized seal.
Attacking midfielder – Oleksiy Gutsulyak (SC Dnipro-1)
The Dnipro attack group with technical, high-speed players made a great impression. Next to Mingo, Pikhalenok and Rubchinsky, Gutsulyak played the brightest in the city where he spent most of his career. Nominally a right winger, in fact, Alexei was able to manage across the entire width of the attack front. He is a direct participant in most combinations, as well as the author of the second and third goals. He interacted especially well with Dovbik – it seemed that the team really lacked just such fire support for the leading Ukrainian forward.
Left midfielder – Mikhail Mudryk (Shakhtar)
Even a blurry penalty is forgiven by Mudrik for the level of play that he demonstrated against the backdrop of his native club. Metalist could not stop Mikhail: Sikan and Zubkov scored three (!) goals from his passes, and Mudrik’s constant participation in high-speed attacks simply rolled out the Kharkiv defensive link. Of course, there are memes about 50 million euros and a list of interested buyers on 120 pages. But there is also a reality: Mudryk has improved incredibly over the past year and really could (should) be the biggest sale in the history of the Premier League. At least as far as the Ukrainian football player is concerned, that’s for sure.
Forward – Talles Brener De Paula (Rukh)
In Rivne, it was decided whether Veres could win at the premiere of his renovated stadium and defeat Rukh in official matches for the first time in history. The Brazilian Talles did not let Kukuev triumph even with an incredible first half. It was he who once again punished someone else’s goalkeeper for an unsuccessfully rebounded ball, equalizing the score for the first time, and then he also assisted Didyk for the second goal. Acting as a forward in the draw, Brener tops the list of top scorers and the goal + assist table of the UPL this season.
Forward – Daniil Sikan (Shakhtar)
It looks like Jovićević finds a use for one of the most unorthodox young strikers in Ukrainian football. Sikan scored a hat-trick in the match with Metalist, first successfully playing after a corner, then reacting to the passes of Mudrik and Sudakov. Short, but sharp and agile, Daniil is a difficult ward for defenders, especially when he has a game. Let this feeling last longer.
Tour coach – Valery Kriventsov (Metalist 1925)
Kharkiv team took the lead in the opening, but soon remained in the minority. It was a moment that pretty much tested the speed of the reaction of the coaching staff. Kryventsov promptly removed the center-half Kravchenko from the game, releasing Shershn – thanks to this, he managed to pull off the defensive line and balance the game. And the second goal, which took place after a corner, secured the advantage of Metallist 1925. To beat the Kovalevites after the removal already in the 23rd minute is evidence of good teamwork and controllability of the winners.
There were enough successful substitutions in the round – the “jokers” of Shakhtar (Traore and Jurasek), Metallist (Chidomere) scored goals, Gorbunov (Dnepr-1) scored an assist. However, the best replacements for the tour are the achievement of Yuri Gura. Both goals of the Alexandrians at the Kolos-Arena took place with the direct participation of the players, whom the head coach of the guests released for replacements. The winning goal was scored by Kovalets, who reacted to Voloshin’s pass and scored the winning goal in the first match upon his return.
The 19-year-old midfielder caught the ball in time when goalkeeper Zari Matsapura interrupted Zaderaki’s flank serve, so he literally brought the ball into the goal. Nazar Voloshin is the second among the youngest goalscorers of the current season. His goal saved Kryvbas from defeat in a match with the former team of their head coach.
Two hat-tricks in a week gave Sikan and again returned himself to the agenda of domestic football.
Source: Sportarena
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
