Sport Arena names the symbolic team of the next UPL round of the 2023/24 season, as well as the best in individual nominations, which are determined by our website for each round
On the website SportArena.com – teams of all rounds of the Ukrainian Premier League 2023/24. Who made it into the top 11 this time and won in individual categories?
Goalkeeper – Alexander Saputin (Zarya)
The trip to Zhitomir did not foretell an easy excursion for the Lugansk team, so Saputin was forced to cope with several blows from Talles, Ndukwe and Smolyakov. Once I reacted to a cross, after which the ball was cut straight into the top corner. At several moments, Alexander was forced to intercept and throw himself at his opponents’ feet in order to help out. We don’t blame the goalkeeper for missing the ball – both Smolyakov’s pass and Nazarenko’s elegant finish were too cool. In another moment, ex-winger Zari Petryak hit the post. Zarya continues to rotate goalkeepers, but it seems, like last spring, Saputin is making strong arguments for remaining the first choice in goal.
EtcFirst defender – Alexander Karavaev (Dynamo)
In general, the wing defenders worked modestly in this round and not without mistakes, but Karavaev, transferred from midfield, showed his edge in the match with Kolos. Already in the debut, Alexander could score (opponents blocked his shot from Voloshin’s pass), but he did not give up and took part in many quick multi-moves on his sideline. Already in the second half, Karavaev made a subtle pass to Voloshin, which Buyalsky cleverly missed, and thus the final score was established.
TseCentral defender – Bogdan Slyubik (Rukh)
Rukh ended the difficult match in Alexandria with a strong-willed draw thanks to an accurate low-range shot from the Slyubik defender. In addition, Bogdan did a lot of work on defense, working against Kovalets and Kostyshin. It’s not his fault for the missed goals – Mikhailenko was the ward of other players when he scored against the Lviv team.
Tsecentral defender – Yaroslav Rakitskyy (Shakhtar)
Unfortunately, it cannot be said that Chernomorets overstrained the Pitmen’s defense – therefore, Rakitsky, with his experience and good reading of the game, actually left no chance for his opponents. In handling the ball, Yaroslav was, as always, convincing – he did a lot of passing work and played in a fairly high middle position. In fact, from the approach to someone else’s penalty area, he gave an assist to Sican for the second goal of the match.
Lefirst defender – Artem Smolyakov (Polesie)
In a difficult confrontation with Butko and Antyukh, he played a match against Zarya Smolyakov. He made a crazy throw along the flank to Nazarenko, who opened the scoring on the verge of offside with a slight technical strike. Further, Artem himself more than once gave out passes with the advancement of the ball, passes, crosses and serves. Twice he shot at the Lugansk team’s goal himself – and not without a chance of success. Guerrero’s goal “came” from his flank, but Butko’s pass was not an easy finish; there was more of the individual skill of the Panamanian who got out of the encirclement.
Tsecentral midfielder – Artem Gabelok (Metalist 1925)
The long-awaited victory of Metalist 1925, the first in 14 matches since November last year, was also the debut for the renewed team led by Skripnik. It is important that it was obtained with the great contribution of one of the old-timers of the Kharkov team. Bezugly opened the scoring after a corner from Gabi, then Artem himself put the nominal hosts ahead with a beautiful long-range strike, and at the end of the match, after another corner of his, a penalty was earned for the winning goal.
EtcFirst midfielder – Ramik Gadzhiev (SK Dnepr-1)
On the eve of the regional derby with the more successful Krivbass, SK Dnepr-1 was experiencing serious personnel problems, and head coach Maksimov even resorted to an unusual method of motivation – a public statement of resignation in case of failure in the central match of the tour. However, the hosts won, and 18-year-old Gadzhiev helped them in this. The winger combined well, tried to maintain the overall pace of the team, and after Babenko and Rubchinsky dispersed a promising attack, he scored the only goal of the match from the penalty line.
Atoffensive midfielder – Nikolay Shaparenko (Dynamo)
In the spring, Shaparenko forces even the meme about 300 million to not really force itself – so in the match against Colossus it all started with his free kick, which was cut into his own goal by visiting defender Bondarenko. Then Nikolai gave good, clear assists to Buyalsky and Kabaev. It would be fair to say that Dynamo finally has a real playmaker who successfully connects the lines and can decide the fate of the episode with one pass.
Lefirst midfielder – Igor Krasnopir (Obolon)
We put young Krasnopir, who scored the only goal in the match with LNZ, on the left in the attack. The player of the Ukrainian youth team took a corner from Chernenko, also shot at goal again and did not get tired of starting from the depths, several times greatly aggravating in quick attacks with the transition through the opponents’ redoubts. This is already the sixth goal in the championship for the footballer whom Obolon found in the Kyiv region championship.
Onfalling – Ruslan Stepanyuk (Vorskla)
We rarely deviate from the principle “The whole team wins and loses”; such strong individual performances force us to do this. Although Vorskla lost to the Kharkiv team, Stepanyuk himself did everything to prevent this from happening. Kane scored from his pass (with a noticeable rebound effect), and at the end of the game, after Ruslan’s pass, the ball hit the opponent’s hand, and he scored a penalty.
Onfalling – Daniil Sikan (Shakhtar)
This is Sican’s time – in the last rounds he really makes a difference on the field. In the second match in a short period of time with Chernomorets, Shakhtar again won convincingly, and Daniil became one of the most noticeable players on the field. He doubled the lead of the nominal hosts by heading in Rakitsky’s cross, took another rather dangerous shot at the Odessa team’s goal, and then earned a penalty for Kevin’s goal.
Some people van on octopuses, others like raccoons, cats, chickens, gophers in the form of seers. But in the UPL, Easter egg battles famously predict the outcome of matches – in the game Shakhtar – Chernomorets, the Easter tradition did not fail / photo shakhtar.com
The real hero of the match in Rivne / photo t.me/veresclub
It was felt that Veress was properly preparing for the key confrontation with FC Minaj. Even in the Dynamo match, risking defeat, the coaching staff rotated. I tried to prepare all the players, although, for example, winger Yanakov missed the match altogether, and striker Mrvaljevic, even after being put on the bench, could not come out and help because he was still recovering from an injury. Even after conceding first, the Rivne team managed to increase their aggression and won a key victory in the fight to maintain their registration in the UPL.
- Analysis from the All-Ukrainian Association of Football Coaches – Here.
The winger invited from Polesie significantly enlivened the game of the Rivne team in the spring part of the season, and in the match against FC Minaj did not convert a penalty, but he himself scored the important third goal with a finish. It’s too early to talk about plans for the next season, the principles of recruitment and the philosophy of selection, but one thing is clear – Shastal must be left.
- Sport Arena statistics: 20 league matches, 3 goals, 2 assists.
If it weren’t for the crazy match, Gabelka, whose team won, would definitely have had Mikhailenko on the tour team. The 22-year-old midfielder shot at Rukh’s goal four times, scoring twice in a different style, but with the same skill. For Nikolai, this is the best match of the season, and for Rotan it is an additional reason to follow his ward not only with an eye on the club, but also on the Ukrainian Olympic team.
- Sport Arena statistics: 13 league matches, 3 goals.
The Panamanian actually made a goal out of nothing for his team in Zhitomir, extricating himself from a difficult situation after Butko’s cross from the flank and making the most of his position. This season, Guerrero played as unevenly as the rest of Zarya, but his high class, flexibility and technique allowed him to score where others did not have a chance. The match against Polesie showed that at the UPL level, Eduardo is a real top and El Pistolero.
- Sport Arena statistics: 19 league matches, 8 goals, 3 assists.
Here we have an excellent choice: a cool goal from Dnieper Gadzhiev, an exquisite performance from Zhytomyr Nazarenko, targeted shots from Kharkov Gabelka and Rivne player Yago. However, what a class of long-range strikes Sudakov showed! Georgy shot at the Odessa goal eight times. And he opened the scoring by shooting with his right foot after a pass from Kryskiv. The distance was quite serious – at least 25 meters.
Shaparenko performed seven of his eight effective actions in the spring. He gained top form after a serious injury and became the personification of Shovkovsky’s style, built on bright personalities who, nevertheless, know how to play not individual, but collective football. Ahead of Klasychny, the good tournament performance of the biggest stars of the Ukrainian Championship gives hope for a great match of the half-year.
- Sport Arena statistics: 20 league matches, 3 goals, 5 assists.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
