Ex-defender of the national team of Ukraine – about the match between Shakhtar and Celtic
Famous Ukrainian football player, ex-defender of the Ukrainian national team Bogdan Shershun analyzed the UEFA Champions League group stage match, in which Shakhtar Donetsk hosted in Warsaw, drew (1:1) with Celtic, highlighting several key moments.
— Bogdan, the Pitmen’s mentor Igor Jovicevich did not make any changes in his team compared to the match in Leipzig. Is this the right decision of the Croatian specialist?
– Of course. Firstly, Shakhtar won a week ago, and the winning line-up, as you know, does not change. If someone got hurt, then yes, changes would be needed.
What impression did Celtic make on you?
— To be honest, Celtic surprised me. We used to have a stereotype about Scottish football: the players are physically very powerful, they play with long passes, they often use the flanks. But this is not about Celtic. We see that the composition of Celtic is very international. There are a lot of legionnaires in the team from Glasgow. The current Celtic is ball control, attacking only, good pressing. Already in the first 15 minutes of the match, the Scots could score 2-3 goals against Shakhtar.
— And what do you attribute a huge number of mistakes made by Shakhtar players, and experienced performers, to? The same Stepanenko made a gross mistake already in the first minute of the match near his own penalty area.
– It is difficult to give a definite answer. In the opening of the match, Matvienko, Trubin, and Stepanenko made mistakes. It is necessary to exclude transverse passes in the goalkeeper’s or own penalty area. It is fortunate that the Scottish team scored only one goal.
By the way, how would you comment on Celtic’s goal?
— This is a tactical mistake of Shakhtar’s players. While the ball was in the middle zone, and in the air, and not under the control of any player of the Ukrainian team, 8 players ran away to attack. Only Bondar and Matvienko remained behind. The flanks of the defense were exposed, Stepanenko also had to stay to help the defenders. Guests quickly dispersed the counterattack and took the lead.
— After the score became 0-1, the Donetsk team were able to calm down and count on a penalty. How would you rate the moment with the Swede?
– Immediately in the television broadcast they did not show a clear repetition. And only then a couple of angles were seen, where you can see how the Celtic defender kicks Maryan Shved in the knee – this is a clean penalty. I am surprised how the Shakhtar players did not appeal to the match referee. Already the Swede then felt the moment with a blow. And here it was necessary to focus the attention of the referee on this episode. Here, energy from Jovicevich would also be needed, but it was not there. Well, questions to the VAR arbitrators. There were two of them working at this meeting. How this happened is not at all clear.
– But soon the Lonians equalized the score. Is it more merit of Sudakov, who gave a good pass, or Mudrik, who scored a goal?
– Of course, first of all, it is worth noting the filigree pass of Georgy Sudakov. He gave the pass on time, did not delay with the transfer. The transfer went to the zone, and Misha Mudrik did everything there. We know his speed. Already in the penalty area, he definitely shot past Hart – 1:1.
— In the second half, as it seemed, all Shakhtar’s substitutions weakened the team’s game. Do you agree with this statement?
– Undoubtedly. Substitutes didn’t improve the team’s play. We see that Traore is not yet in shape. Petryak, who played in Hungary, has not yet settled into the new team. Ocheretko played in the Champions League for the first time. But at Celtic, the players who came on as a substitute added power to the game.
– At the end of the fight, moments at Trubin’s goal began to appear regularly …
– The guests pressed and the best moment, in my opinion, was at Yakumakis. In the 85th minute, having received the ball in the center of the penalty area, he shot from a roundhouse – the ball flew close to the post.
– Bohdan, is a draw in this meeting the maximum for today’s Shakhtar?
– I agree with this. It’s good that the Pitmen played a draw. This one point is important both in the standings and in the odds table. And the club earned 930 thousand euros. In today’s life, this is quite a lot of money.
– Who, in your opinion, was Shakhtar’s best player in this meeting?
— Mudrik. Mikhail is good in attack, it remains to tighten up the game in defense. Georgy Sudakov also looked great at times. Gradually, confidence comes to him.
— To the group standings F can you watch now?
– Undoubtedly. Everyone understands that the clear favorite of the group is Real Madrid. The second place will be fought between Shakhtar, Celtic and Leipzig. Almost completely, the Ukrainian team got involved in a fight with the best teams in Europe. This is a pleasure for all Ukrainian fans.
– Now there is a three-week pause in the Champions League, caused by the games of the national teams. Will this pause be good for Shakhtar?
“I think the team needs her. You need to take a breath, rethink everything. The level of the Champions League and the Premier League is incomparable. We hope that Lassina Traore will be able to improve her physical qualities, and other beginners will get used to the requirements of Igor Jovićević. And already on October 5, Shakhtar will play at the Santiago Bernabeu. This will be a test for our team.
Source: Sportarena
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