Bizimana, Plumen, Mrvaljevic and the entire team of the 21st round of the Premier League

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 – Evgeniy Volynets (SK Dnepr-1)

In this round, Kemkin did the most work – Shakhtar dealt 36 shots in the match with Minai, 10 of them were parried by his pupil in the Transcarpathian goal. But still, the outsiders lost, conceding twice. But Volynets truly saved his team from defeat in the match with Cherkasy LNZ. He parried eight blows – from Shestakov, Pasich, Yashari, Khoblenko. Evgeniy won a clean one-on-one against Shestakov, and managed to clean up after defensive mistakes. I missed from Salihu after a set piece, but without the efforts of the goalkeeper, an away draw would not have been achieved.

EtcFirst defender – Efim Konoplya (Shakhtar)

Konoplya’s most noticeable progress this season concerns his connection to attacks. He became bolder, sportily bolder and more inventive. It was Efim who earned the penalty for the first goal in the match with Minai, after which he did not switch out of the game. Komplya himself shot at goal several times, at one point hitting the frame of the goal, and also made a number of passes with crosses and crosses. He almost also scored an assist – Sican could have scored a double from his pass.

TseCentral defender – Denis Popov (Dynamo)

The master of set-piece connections scored his first goal this season (the previous one was in May against Krivbass), but apart from the important goal, which consolidated Dynamo’s advantage at the end of the game, it deprived the hosts of unnecessary nerves in the game with a weakened Zorya. However, without an important goal, Popov played a strong match. In total, he made nearly two dozen interceptions and tackles, acted very carefully during passes (including long ones), and won 2/3 of the duels.

TseCentral defender – Khaidin Salihu (LNZ Cherkasy)

The Kosovar saved the Cherkassy team from defeat when he connected to the set piece and closed Bar’s discount after this corner. However, in a match against such a difficult opponent as SK Dnepr-1, Salihu distinguished himself not only with a goal, but also with a diligent play in front of his goal. He made 14 interceptions and tackles and constantly forced the opponents to fight. The moment with the visitors’ goal turned out to be unfortunate, but there was a rebound to a player for whom Khaidin was not responsible.

Lefirst defender – Konstantin Vivcharenko (Dynamo)

Of course, we keep in mind that Zarya played far from the main lineup (and the right flank, which Vivcharenko opposed, was specifically weakened). But Konstantin made serious progress, came into the starting lineup and played quite brightly against the Lugansk club. Vivcharenko is one of the most aggressive wing defenders on tour. A series of passes with passes for aggravation, an assist for Vanat, as well as his own dangerous shot (quite promising, although inaccurate).

Tsecentral midfielder – Jihad Bizimana (Krivbass)

Krivbass won an extremely difficult match with Kovalevka thanks to a goal in the 5th minute of stoppage time. Center Bizimana scored his first shot of the match with a well-calibrated pass from Kozhushko. This is the second time this season the Rwandan scores the goal, and again it is a late winning goal (as was the case against Alexandria in the winter). In general, the match was not easy for the central team of the hosts; Jihad played with Ilic in the first half, and after the break he created a duet with Vakulko. He was the balancer of the entire midfield.

Tsecentral midfielder – Ruslan Chernenko (Obolon)

The experienced midfielder really strengthened the Brewers after returning from Bulgaria. This season he helped them with effective actions more than once. And in a difficult match with Polesye, weakened by a sending off in the 2nd minute, he turned out to be the most specific in finishing. Chernenko hit the Zhytomyr goal three times and scored the only goal of the match. He worked thoroughly in the center of the field, although this is the strongest point of the opponents’ game. In general, Ruslan is a “black mark” for Polesie. Playing for different teams, he lost to them only once, with three wins and two draws.

EtcFirst midfielder – Ilya Kvasnitsa (Rukh)

Until some time, Metalist 1925 would not have even thought about finishing the match with the Lviv team in such a way, but a massive blow from the 17th to the 36th minute broke the entire game for the Kharkov team. Right winger Kvasnitsa especially distinguished himself in the first scoring combinations. His high-speed passes and ability to play between the lines and between opponents posed difficult challenges for the defense of the nominal hosts. It was Ilya who earned the penalty for the first goal of the match. Later he participated in most of Rukh’s quick attacks, and after a subtle pass from Shepherd he doubled the score within three minutes.

Atoffensive midfielder – Kirill Kovalets (FC Alexandria)

FC Alexandria won the second match in a row in their successful spring unbeaten streak, and again Kovalets Jr. played an important role in this success. Kirill, first of all, was good at building and designing attacks – Kulakov and Shulyansky could easily score after his passes and plays. And after the break, when an equal game threatened to lose points, Kovalets scored a free kick from Skorko’s joker and brought victory to his team.

LeFirst midfielder – Ange-Freddy Plumen (Ruch)

The fast and skillful Guadeloupe midfielder carried out complex tasks all over the pitch – and did so much with so few errors and defects. Plumen opened the scoring with a penalty, then doubled it with his second strike of the match, finishing in touch with Sych’s cross from the right flank at the far post. Freddie supported the attacks in a timely manner, was distinguished by subtle decisions in passing work and contributed to the declass of Metalist 1925 in the first half.

Onfalling – Marco Mrvaljevic (Veres)

For the third round in a row, the Montenegrin newcomer from Rivne scored. Moreover, in different styles and with opponents of different classes and types. In Odessa, Marko scored a free kick from Shastal in his debut, forcing Chernomorets to change its game plan. Later, the persistent striker looked for his chance and forced the opponents to fight. He could have consolidated the visitors’ advantage, almost scoring after a corner and Banada’s kick, but the early goal remained the only one in the match – the winning one.

The match Obolon – Polesie ended in victory for the hosts, but we are in no hurry to give someone else the championship in the post-match scandal.

Dynamo beat Zorya in the snowiest match of the new year, and the players had their reasons for the original celebration.

There was a lot against the guests: injuries to Klimchuk and Sapuga, and a weakening of the supporting zone due to the simultaneous loss of three players for various reasons (Sapuga, Dovgy, Edson), and, in general, a rather good opponent. But Ruch played excellently on counter courses and showed much more sharpness and specificity in finishing. Contrary to expectations, the Lviv team won the center of the field and stifled their opponents with pressure. And having secured a crushing advantage in the first half, after the break they did not lose control of the game after the Kharkov team was sent off and scored.

• Analysis from the All-Ukrainian Association of Football Coaches – Here.

The coaches managed the teams’ play well through substitutions. For example, it was Andrievsky who successfully fed Popov at the moment of Dynamo’s second goal. Skorko also crossed from a free kick to Kovalets for Alexandria’s winning goal. Just three minutes later on the field, Kharkov resident Zhichikov crossed for Imerekov for a prestige goal against Rukh. However, in our opinion, the most important exit of the tour is Kozhushko from Krivbass. He not only escalated the game, but also in the 95th minute of the match he provided an assist to Bizimana for the late winning goal against Kovalevets. And he could score himself.

• Sport Arena statistics: 20 league matches, 7 goals, 2 assists.

The 21-year-old football player has significantly expanded his functionality in Alexandria. He discovered a talent for scoring, and in the match against Vorskla, just four minutes after appearing on the field, he successfully executed a free kick, from which Kovalets scored the winning goal against the Poltava team. Thus, Skorko, playing as a defender and midfielder, has already performed four effective actions.

• Sport Arena statistics: 16 league matches, 3 goals, 1 assist.

The best match of the Guadeloupe national team midfielder Plumen this season, and perhaps during his time playing for Rukh in general. Metalhead 1925 could not cope with Freddie. Two goals and a strong game in constructing attacks from the Lviv team – as a result, a very memorable historical defeat for the Kharkov team.

• Sport Arena statistics: 14 league matches, 3 goals.

This season, goals from Chernenko are a strong factor that even the xG metric cannot take into account. For her, Ruslan’s long-range strikes are an anomaly, for him they are a verified and practiced element. In the match with Zhytomyr, the Kiev midfielder successfully connected from deep to the rebound and scored a screamer in his best style.

The goal from the Rwandan collection keeps the intrigue in the UPL. Having scored in the 95th minute against the Kovalevites, Bizimana did not allow the Krivoy Rogians to fall behind Shakhtar and for the second time this season (after the goal to the Alexandrians) brought Krivbass three points.

• Sport Arena statistics: 20 league matches, 2 goals, 1 assist.