And the indicator of the 2010/2011 season can only be repeated
After two starting rounds of the Champions League, Shakhtar have four points scored – a victory over Leipzig and a draw with Celtic. The Pitmen’s new mentor Igor Jovicevich repeated the results of Luis Castro and Mircea Lucescu (twice). In addition, only once in its history Shakhtar started better in the Champions League. Well, the Croatian specialist himself managed to show such a result in the first year of work with the team. Nobody has been able to do this before.
It was during the best season of the Champions League for the Miners so far – 2010/211, in which the Donetsk club reached the quarterfinals of the tournament. Then, we recall, Shakhtar ended up in the same group with Braga, Arsenal and Partizan, eventually winning their quartet with five wins and a loss. And the Pitmen started with two victorious matches – against Partizan (1:0 at home) and Braga (3:0 away). The current coach of Dynamo Mircea Lucescu then led the Donetsk team.
Twice the Romanian specialist managed to score four points with Shakhtar in two opening matches of the group stage. In the 2012/2013 season, the Miners defeated Nordschelland (2:0 at home) and drew with Juventus (1:1) away. As a result, in their quartet, Shakhtar, having scored 10 points, took second place after the Turin club, ahead of Chelsea, by the way.
A year later, the Pitmen repeated the starting result. Shakhtar defeated Real Sociedad on the road and tied with Manchester United at home. Alas, this time four points in the first two matches were not enough to qualify for the playoffs: with eight points in the asset, the Donetsk club finished third, leaving behind Manchester United and Bayer.
How Shakhtar lacked four points in two opening matches and eight final points in the 2020/2021 season. Then the Pitmen led by Luis Castro in the first round of the group stage sensationally beat Real in Madrid (3:2), and at home defended a draw with Inter (0:0). This was followed by two devastating defeats from Borussia Mönchengladbach, as well as a repetition of the results in matches with Real and Inter. With 8 points, Shakhtar finished third, missing Borussia in the Champions League playoffs, which also scored 8 points. It should be noted that this was the second season for Castro at the helm of the team.
Let’s see how the first league season ends for Shakhtar Jovićević. So far, the Miners and the specialist are really pleasantly surprised.
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.
