Former Ukraine midfielder Oleg Shelayev has shared his impressions of the first leg of the Europa League 1/16 final between Shakhtar Donetsk and French side Rennes (2-1), which took place yesterday in Warsaw.
- "Shakhtar looked decent, the game with Rennes was even. "Rennes should be in a good matchday mentality, but I have not noticed an advantage of the opponents in at least something. There was a lot of talk and questions before the match regarding how Shakhtar would make up for the loss of Mudryk. We saw that almost all the Pitmen's attacks started with flanking Zubkov and Mykhailychenko. To be more accurate, it was Bohdan Mykhailychenko who made up for the absence of the left winger.
- What can you say about the goals scored by the Pitmen?
- Both goals against Rennes were scored by Mykhailychenko. I particularly liked Shakhtar's second goal, when there was a well-prepared attacking move of 10-12 passes, Bogdan opened well and continued the attacking move to Kryskev, and then there was a pass to the centre of the penalty area and a mistake by the Rennes defender.
- You praised Mykhailychenko, and didn`t Kryskiv, who opened the scoring and was involved in the second goal attack, deserve high praise?
- He played very well. Jovicevic said that he was preparing Kryskiv for Mudryk's position, but it is wrong to compare them, because Kryskiv acts in a completely different style.
- From the outset Shakhtar took their time, keeping the ball at their own goal for quite a while. What tactic did Jovicevic want to employ?
- Yes, Shakhtar deliberately kept the ball for as long as possible. "The Pitmen have got used to such a game. They won't make long passes with the risk of losing the ball quickly. But in the first half Shakhtar had a lot of errors in their half. It was good that somewhere around the 60th minute the intensity of the game decreased, and Rennes got physical. Overall, the French team looked good, and we liked the fact that their coach is not afraid to trust the youth - in such a tough encounter we saw players born in 2004 and even 2005 in action. For them, it's a bonus, albeit a certain risk.
- Did any of Shakhtar's players drop out of the game?
- I would like to see more refined football from Traore. So far he has displayed a purely powerhouse style of play. We need more incisive passing to teammates and something creative in attack. I think that talk of his injury recovery is irrelevant. After winter break, everyone started from scratch, including him. All the Pitmen have been preparing individually and as part of the team. But it is obvious that he has not gained the necessary conditions.
- Who is to blame for the goal conceded by Rennes?
- There is no point in accusing anyone in particular. When playing a standard, the attacking team have more opportunities to take risks, with two or three players on the ball, and very often there is only one defender. Perhaps Mykhailychenko should have been sharper on that ball... But we should also note a very good pass from the opposition. By the time Rennes fully deserved a goal, just remember the episode when FC Shakhtar's goal was saved by Trubin after an error by Bondarenko.
- Who of Shakhtar's players can be mentioned in this match?
- In my opinion, Zubkov, Matvienko and Mykhailchenko were the best players. Although the entire team played fairly evenly.
- What can you expect from a 2-1 win?
- It is a very good score. It is much better to travel with it to such an opponent as Rennes. "The Pitmen, I think, have a significant head start against the French side, and it's not even about the score, but rather about the game Shakhtar show. Igor Jovicevic's team got a taste of the opponent and realized they are not weaker than they are. How the teams spend the time before the replay is very important. "The Pitmen will prepare quietly, while Rennes need to solve the difficult problems in the French championship.
Oleg Semenchenko