Sparrow: It seems like a youth league team played against Atalanta

The second match of the updated UEFA Champions League format has ended for The miner is a complete failure – large defeat from Atalanta with a score of 0:3 allows us to talk about the big problems of the Ukrainian champion this season. Famous former football player of the Donetsk club and the Ukrainian national team Andrey Vorobey shared his opinion about the match of the second round of the group stage of the Champions League Shakhtar – Atalanta.

— Was defender Alla Gram’s appearance in the starting lineup surprising? The orange-and-black newcomer played only 11 minutes in the current UPL season?

— This is the decision of the team’s head coach Marino Pusic, he trains the team and determines the starting lineup. My opinion: the Pitmen’s coach made a mistake with Gram, and another full-back Pedro Enrique also played poorly. Yes, this Brazilian defender has good potential, but he made a lot of mistakes, allowed the opponent to beat him and make passes.

— As it turned out in the end, everything in this match was decided in the first half. The guests confidently took the initiative into their own hands, scored twice, and could have scored more than once (we remember the shots on the crossbar). And in general, how would you evaluate the statistics of shots on goal in the first half – 0:13?

— We can talk and discuss a lot, but for me the current Shakhtar is the weakest in the last decade. Of course, I don’t know what’s going on in the team now. Shakhtar’s distinctive feature is speed and attacking play. This has been the case throughout the years. Nobody knows what Pusic is instilling in Shakhtar now. Atalanta could well have scored 5-6 goals in this match. Although in the second half the Italians stopped and played strictly according to the result. Only in the second half did the Donetsk team try to create something at the opponent’s goal.

— What didn’t you like about the Ukrainian champion’s game?

— Sikan has an injury and we see that there is no forward in the team. Eguinaldo, for me, is not a forward. Traore, coming on as a substitute, again showed nothing. I agree that it was difficult for Traore to get into the game when the score was 0:3. Strikers are dependent people, but Shakhtar’s midfielders completely failed this game.

I really don’t envy Riznyk, Bondar and Matvienko in this match. The midfield players didn’t help them at all, didn’t take the ball away, didn’t put pressure on them, didn’t attack. Someone will say, this is the level of Ukrainian football now. That’s all true, but on the football field you need to show desire, character, and the amount of running work you need to do. After the sale of Mudryk to Chelsea, the miners have no speed.

To answer your question, what did I dislike the most? When the Donetsk central defenders received the ball in their own penalty area, the central midfielders Stepanenko and Kryskiv sat low and were 10 meters away from them. When they received the ball, they did not even try to start an attack, moving the ball between the lines. Stepanenko and Kryskiv only passed the ball back and across – this kind of football is the road to nowhere.

— What is your opinion about Atalanta?

— This is a very powerful club, winner of the Europa League. Atalanta is probably the best player in Europe at the moment using pressure. Their one-on-one play is completely automatic. It’s hard to compete with a team whose game is set.

In the Shakhtar – Atalanta match, our players mostly stood in their own penalty area and did not win the ball. It should have been the other way around, you had to give your all on the football field. It seems like a youth league team was playing against a team from Bergamo on Wednesday. The class of players was so different.

— In the game against Atalanta, Shakhtar did not make a single shot on target. Can this be explained?

— Shakhtar is not allowed to play like that. The goal and task in football is to score goals and win. And if you are not trying to aggravate the situation at the enemy’s goal. After the final whistle, Pusic said that Konoplya had a chance to score at the beginning of the second half. Yes, there should be 4-5 such moments per half.

Let me give you an example from my career. In 2000, Shakhtar reached the group stage of the Champions League for the first time. In the first round we hosted Lazio, at that time the champion of Italy. Yes, we lost 0:3 in Donetsk, but we were all looking for a chance in attack, and we could score several times. We did everything to achieve results and please our fans.

— What should Shakhtar do in the next game, which will take place on October 22 in London, against Arsenal?

“Arsenal plays itself and lets the opponent play. However, there is still time before this match. I think, first, Marino Pusic needs to have a heart-to-heart talk with the players. You need to give your maximum in every episode in the Champions League. Otherwise, nothing good will happen. I already spoke about Stepanenko and Kryskiv, and Sudakov was lost too. Of course, one player will not be able to carry out the game. Georgy is trying to play offensively, but you won’t get far without the support of your partners. Have you seen Zubkov and Marlon on the field? I don’t. In the match with Atalanta, we did not see our usual Donetsk Shakhtar. Many questions remain after this defeat.