Ruslan Kostyshin: It’s hard to say who is the best player in the match between Shakhtar and Young Boys: Sudakov or Bondar

On Wednesday, November 6th, Miner finally scored my the first goal and got the first victory in the main stage Champions League 2024/2025. IN fourth roundin a nominally home match The Miners beat the Swiss Young Boys (2:1). All significant moments match Shakhtar – Young Boys we discussed with a famous Ukrainian coach Ruslan Kostyshin.

— In the first three rounds of the current Champions League, neither Shakhtar nor Young Boys have scored goals yet. What were your expectations from this meeting?

— First of all, I analyzed the fact that the Swiss champion is now in crisis, occupying only 10th place in the standings of his championship. Young Boys have big problems with their squad and especially with their defense. We know that the injury epidemic has knocked out several defensive players. And when the cameramen showed the bench of the team from Bern, I noticed that the Young Boys coaching staff was at a loss. Perhaps they need a new head coach who can unite the players. And I expected an attacking game from Shakhtar, which, in general, happened.

— Many were surprised by Eguinaldo’s emergence as a center forward. What about you?

— Only the head coach of the Donetsk team, Marino Pusic, sees the guys in the training process. As I already said, Young Boys is now experiencing big problems, so Shakhtar was looking for a fast forward. Therefore, for the position of nine, the coach of the Ukrainian champion chose between Eguinaldo and Sican. Although, we know that there is still Traore.

— How would you rate Artem Bondarenko’s cut in his own half of the field, after which the guests made an interception and, through the efforts of Imeri, opened the scoring in this match?

— First of all, I think this is a technical defect on Bondarenko’s part. Apparently, there is an instruction from the head coach to use a small pass when leaving the defense. It’s worth saying here that it was in vain that Bondar made a pass to Bondarenko, who had an opponent near him. It would have been better if Valery had immediately passed the ball back to Riznyk. But I was pleased with the reaction of many of Bondarenko’s partners. They ran up to him and cheered him up. It was impossible to shed tears at that moment – I say this figuratively. This is how it should be in a healthy team.

— Soon, Shakhtar finally scored, twice. How did the Donetsk team turn this game around?

— From the very beginning of the meeting, the Donetsk Shakhtar players were stronger than their opponents. Well, chance helped the hosts level the score. While the central defender of the Swiss team was being helped, Shakhtar players from this zone equalized the score. Sudakov opened up the zone on the right flank of the Young Boys defense and crossed into the goalkeeper, where Zubkov easily scored the ball into the goal. This goal finally made Shakhtar’s players believe in themselves. Soon Sudakov began to take over the game, aggravating the situation in front of the opponent’s penalty area. In one of the episodes, Georgy beat his opponent, moved to the right and fired powerfully from outside the penalty area.

It was clearly visible that Sudakov had caught the courage. By the way, I noticed that Sudakov very rarely fell slightly to the right during attacks. Basically, his favorite zone is a little to the left. In the 41st minute, everything worked out well for the Miners.

— What did you think about during the break of the match? That Shakhtar will develop its advantage or that the guests will be able to escape defeat?

— I thought that the Donetsk team should just close this game. To do this, it was necessary to score more, preferably before the 80th minute of the match. Throughout the match it was clear that in this match Shakhtar controlled the situation on the football field. Only in the last 10 minutes of this match did the Ukrainian football players begin to press towards their goal, defending the existing result. The price of victory for the Miners was very high. In such a situation, even a top club would maintain a minimal advantage in the score.

— How do you like the performance of central defender Valery Bondar?

— First, I would like to mention all the Shakhtar Donetsk defenders, who played very disciplined. Bondar played this fight very confidently. When the whole team plays strongly, then the blots in defense are not particularly visible. I was surprised that left midfielder Kevin often sat in defense, helping our defenders. Now, after the final whistle, I can’t say for sure who is Shakhtar’s best player in this match – Sudakov or Bondar.

— How do you like the work of the Israeli arbitrator Greenfield? He didn’t seem to give a couple of penalties against Young Boys for handling things in his own penalty area?

“I didn’t see any obvious mistakes in the work of this referee. And all these hands, after the rebounds… I no longer know how to react to this. In general, the referee kept the game under control, although one of the Young Boys players could have been shown a yellow card and it would have been his second in this match.

— In what component of the game did Shakhtar outperform the guests?

— In desire, for sure. The Miners’ team play is better than that of the Swiss champion. Our players looked good applying pressure. Zubkov and Kevin had a brilliant fight, as if for themselves, stretching the enemy’s defense on the flanks. The Young Boys players played very chaotically.

— In the next round, the miners will travel to Eindhoven, where they will compete with the champion of the Netherlands. Is it possible to score much-needed points for our champion there?

— It will be much harder for Shakhtar in the Netherlands. Now PSV is on the rise. They are leaders in their championship. The time has not yet come to analyze PSV’s game, but they are holding their own. Historically, teams from this country love to play attackingly. All PSV players love and can beat opponents one on one. But now, after Shakhtar’s first victory in the main round, it will become much easier for our team’s players.

After three rounds, the orange-and-blacks didn’t score any goals and, of course, didn’t win. All the experts and fans asked: “Where, at least, are the shots on goal?” Scoring one goal was a huge problem. Now all our guys have received a breath of fresh air. To get into the Champions League playoffs you need to score points in the Netherlands. Further, Shakhtar will meet with Bayern and Borussia (Dortmund) and it will be difficult there, everyone understands that.