The well-known expert Serhii Nagornyak - about the matches of Ukrainian clubs in the European Cups and the upcoming matches of the country's national team in the League of Nations.
— How would you rate Shakhtar's start in the Champions League?
— To be honest, after a difficult start in the UPL, there were worries about how Shakhtar would play in the Champions League. But the Miners pleased, first defeating Leipzig in Germany (4:1), and then drawing with Celtic (1:1). With Leipzig, everything was almost perfect. But with Celtic in the first half, the game was roughly equal, and in the second half of the meeting, the Scots looked better. But there is an explanation for this: opponents began to treat Shakhtar differently, who showed his best qualities.
— Which of the players would you single out?
— But in general, the team played well. But it is worth highlighting the same Mudryk, Sudakov, Trubin, Shved. In general, before moving to Shakhtar, Maryan could not find his team in which he would play and show himself to the full extent. And in Shakhtar, he succeeds in everything. This is due to Jovicevich, who trusts his players. But now it will be interesting to see how Shakhtar will play in two matches with Real. Let's see how Jovicevich will prepare the team for matches with the Spanish giant.
— Unlike Shakhtar, Dynamo started in European Cups with two defeats. What do you think about this?
— To be honest, I don't remember a time when "Dynamo" lost in six out of seven matches. This is a reason to think. Probably something is wrong with the team. Yes, Shaparenka missed the meeting with the Cypriots, but this is not an argument.
— Instead, "Dnipro-1" pleased and won against "Apollo" with a score of 3:1. What do you think about the Dnipro drive?
— "Dnipro-1" well done! Confidently won against the champion of Cyprus! Well done Dovbyk, who proved himself as a team leader, scoring a goal and an assist. Artem deservedly became the best player of the week in the Conference League. I will single out Valik Rubchinsky, who also made an assist and scored a goal in this match. He is generally well done! The guy recovered from two injuries and was able to reach a good level.
— From September 21 to 27, the Ukrainian national team will play twice against Scotland and Armenia within the framework of the League of Nations. Do you think the Ukrainian national team will hold first place in the group?
— We hope so. There is a problem that Sasha Zinchenko will miss these matches due to injury. Also, more than three months have passed since the time when the Ukrainian national team played in the framework of the World Cup selection. And guys need time to play again.
"Dynamo" players did not prove themselves in the European Cups, "Shakhtar" players played well in the Champions League. There are also legionnaires who play in different championships. There are Malinovsky and Yarmolenko, who must show leadership qualities. Let's see what Petrakov comes up with. Yes, of course, the opponents are not easy, but still, these are not teams from the elite group. Therefore, you can play with them and achieve positive results. Let's hope that it will be so and the national team of Ukraine will win its group, ultimately rising to the elite division of the League of Nations.
Dmytro KOTKOV