Sparrow: Riznyk’s benefit performance in Eindhoven can only be compared with Yuri Virt’s game in London, at Highbury Stadium against Arsenal

Miner for the first time in its history played against PSV. In the match of the 5th round of the main round of the Champions League champions of Ukraine in a dramatic duel lost to the Dutch champion with a score of 2:3. Key Points match PSV – Shakhtar we discussed with the famous former player Gornyakov Andrey Vorobyom.

— Andrey, it was a bright Champions League match, and its plot was reminiscent of the first game in history for Donetsk Shakhtar in the Champions League. We are talking about the match in London against Arsenal, which took place in September 2000…

— Judging by the score, then, yes. Then at the very end of the game we conceded twice and lost with the same score 2:3. But the storyline of these meetings was different. If we talk about the match in Eindhoven, then this is a very annoying, offensive and painful defeat. Perhaps it is not entirely deserved. In general, the first half of the match was held at a decent level for the miners. Yes, the hosts had more possession of the ball, but before the break they could not create anything dangerous near Riznyk’s goal. Let’s praise the Donetsk Shakhtar players here.

— The match itself started well for the champion of Ukraine – a two-goal advantage by the 37th minute. Hemp simply tore apart his flank and had two assists to his credit…

— I would say that Efim Konopolya is not a defensive player, he has problems in defense. I would call him a winger who has decent pace and runs decently in attack. Let’s remember that Konoplya made two assists, but our goalkeeper Dmitry Riznyk started the attacks well. Shakhtar was good both in the first half against Young Boys and in the first half against PSV Eindhoven. The home players started the match by actively pressing. It was difficult for the guests to escape the pressure, but they found holes in the restructuring of the PSV players. By scoring twice, Shakhtar’s players stunned the Dutch championship. I think that they did not have a plan B for such a development of events.

— Which of Shakhtar’s goals did you like best?

— I am a former striker and, of course, I liked the goal performed by Daniil Sican. He got ahead of the defender and hit the ball with his boot. I generally liked Sican’s play in this match, he escalated the situation in attack, and in defense, with set pieces, he was useful. All the more surprising was his substitution in the 55th minute of the game. Eguinaldo, who came on as a substitute, did not enter this game at all.

— Do you think that in the second half the miners should have held the winning score or tried to score the third goal, which would have decided everything?

“I think there would be no need to take risks here.” The Donetsk team didn’t have any particular problems during the game. Yes, the PSV players pressed, but the visiting defense coped with the increased pressure from the enemy. The entire scheme of the visitors’ game was broken by the red card of left-back Pedrinho, which he received in the 69th minute of the match. As we see in Europe, it is difficult to play in the minority. Here are recent examples of this. PSG in Munich lost without a chance to Bayern, and Monaco, winning at home against Benfica, after being sent off, ended up losing 2:3. Therefore, the red card for Shakhtar’s Brazilian Pedrinho became the turning point of this game.

— Is the removal deserved?

– Yes. This is an unforced foul on the part of the Shakhtar defender – there are no questions to the referee at all. I remember a month ago, in the Dynamo-Shakhtar game, Kryskiv was sent off, and it was also an unnecessary foul on the part of the orange-and-blacks player. As for Pedrinho, I would attribute this point to his inexperience. We are talking about matches of such intensity in the Champions League.

— After the final whistle, I had a chance to read the comments of Shakhtar fans – they blame Marino Pusic for not being able to manage the game correctly. We’re talking about replacements. After being sent off, he made a substitution, putting only defender Franjic on the field, not using the full quota of five possible substitutions. It was no longer possible to freshen up the game in attack…

– This is the decision of the coaching staff, they accepted it. Let the leaders of FC Shakhtar look at this situation. The same Stepanenko could not help the team – the hosts shot from outside the penalty area, and the defensive players did not meet the opponent, giving them the opportunity to shoot at Riznyk’s goal without interference.

— This week, the players of the Dutch teams scored three goals in the end – Feyenoord scored three times in Manchester, and PSV Eindhoven scored against Shakhtar. What is so special about these teams that they put the squeeze on their opponents?

— Teams from the Netherlands always have certain problems when defending. However, they are geared towards playing on the attack, which is what the audience likes so much. We see that now football in this country sets certain trends: the same Arne Slot leads Liverpool. We see that even at 0:3 it is possible to win back. And in Eindhoven, the hosts’ coach threw all his attacking players into battle. Yes, he took a risk by taking off the defenders, but he did everything right. The hosts were losing 0:2 and they could make their life in the Champions League more difficult. Pepi came on as a substitute and scored the winning goal.

— Surely everyone liked the performance of the miner’s goalkeeper Riznyk. What can you say about his actions in this fight?

— Of course, it was a memorable match for our goalkeeper. I can only compare this benefit performance with Yuri Virt’s game in London at Highbury Stadium. Then Arsenal unleashed all the power of their attacks on our goal and also won 3:2. I think that Yura remembers that fight very well, although 24 years have already passed. Dima will remember this meeting for the rest of his life. Yes, the first goal we missed – the ball could have been saved. But you will remember how many saves he made, stopping 15 (!) shots on target. Overall, I would rate this match as an asset for the Pitmen. Somewhere the Donetsk team lacked luck and football luck.

— Shakhtar have a game with Rukh on Sunday ahead. How to move on from such an offensive defeat?

– This will be very difficult to do. It will be difficult for Shakhtar players to recover mentally and physically. Plus the logistics until they get to Lvov. The players of the Donetsk team spent a lot of effort, plus it’s not easy to adjust to the Ukrainian championship. In this regard, Rukh will have an advantage. The main task for the Pitmen’s coaching staff is to make their players forget the game in Eindhoven and recover physically.