Artem Frankov: “It would be better not to get into trouble with high expectations on the prospects of Dnipro-1 in the second leg

Well-known Ukrainian journalist Artem Frankov shared his prediction for the second leg playoff match of the Europa League qualifying round between Cypriot AEK and Dnipro-1, which will be held today in Larnaca. Recall that the first meeting of the opponents ended with the defeat of Dnipro with a score of 1:2.

“In the first match, AEK won a not problematic but well-deserved victory - 2:1. The Cypriots took the lead by two goals already before the break, but Dnipro-1 scored the second goal on its own, as if following the example of Dynamo.

I have complicated feelings and conflicting impressions about the result and the course of the first match. In my opinion, it is impossible to argue with the fact that the disastrous first half was associated not only with individual mistakes, in particular the goalkeeper and defenders (Valef, Tanchik, Svatok), but also with an elementary lack of teamwork.

The main question: what was it like in the second half - Dnipro-1, simply put, a new team that played its first official game, got used to it and started to create, or did AEK play too close? It is clear that there was both, but what more?

Optimists from the second half of the meeting even believed in the total passage of our club. Not to get into the same trouble with high expectations as with Zorya and the Romanians!

Well, let's once again try to be optimistic and demand from our players, despite all the inappropriateness, and sometimes the unthinkability of the demands. On the other hand, this is still not a war, but they managed to continue doing their business in relative comfort.

I believe that the absence of Sarapiy, suspended for sending off in the first match, will not affect the overall picture of the guests' game and will not affect the final result.

My bet: to be honest, if I played on something, it would be on the victory of Dnipro-1 or even a pass to the next stage. But if this seems too much for you, then let's give the individual total of Dnipro more than 1. In the end, the situation obliges the guests to push forward, and they have nothing to lose, except for good bonuses, ”Frankov said.