Artem Dovbik's debut match for Girona pleasantly surprised not only the club's fans, but also Spanish journalists, who were not shy to praise the Ukrainian forward. Local media wrote that Dovbik is already starting to live up to expectations, and they paid a record sum for him for a reason, as few people can come to the team and in the first match help it to draw in a match with a very difficult opponent. There was also a lot of praise for Tsygankov, who gave the resulting pass to Dovbik.
As
"Dovbik justifies caché" - a journalist from the publication As plays on the word "caché", which has two meanings: 1) the money an artiste charges for his performance; 2) elegance or style. When Dovbik was introduced, the local media emphasised not only that it was a record transfer, but also that Dovbik plays with a powerhouse style, something Girona lacked last season.
"The Ukrainian link-up is starting to give Girona a good and quick return. It took no more than a few minutes for Tsygankov to find the head of Dovbik, who managed to equalise in a very difficult game with an early goal from Takefus Kubo.
If things didn't work out for Girona in the first half, the second half was more favourable for the visitors. Everything was in favour of Sociedad, until Dovbik came on the pitch. The Ukrainians' link-up immediately demonstrated its effectiveness. Playing on the right flank, Tsygankov hit the target with a superb cross and crossed perfectly to Dovbik, who was too alone in the Real Madrid goalkeeper's area. Dovbik's debut couldn't have gone better: a shot and a goal worth a golden point for Girona. Despite their poor start, the visitors fought to the end for a draw, which they achieved at the end of the match. "Real Sociedad" did not give continuity to their great start, and it seemed that in the end they were burnt out, playing with fire, trying to keep a dangerous 1-0 scoreline. The points distribution can be called a fair result, but also this match showed that both teams need to add more.
Interestingly, already today the popular publication has released another article about Dovbik, which talks about the successful debut, the high bar set by the Ukrainian and the correct transfer policy of Girona.
"Welcome, Mr Dovbik," journalist Mark Suelves admires the Ukrainian forward's debut and tells more about Artem, trying to predict the Ukrainian's future at Girona, as well as praising the Tsygankov-Dovbik link-up.
"Everyone knows the name and surname of the king of Girona - Christian Stuani - but Girona seem to have a new prince: Artem Dovbik. His La Liga debut against Real Sociedad was incredible. The Ukrainian giant needed just five touches of the ball to score his first goal and bring his Girona side their first point of the season. Undoubtedly an important 'declaration of intent' from the number nine, which confirmed why there is so much expectation surrounding him at the club.
What seems clear is that we are dealing with a striker who cares little for the most expensive transfer poster in Girona's history. Just over seven million was paid for Dovbik to own 70 per cent of his rights and, if this continues, it could prove to be a very small price to pay for such a forward. He is a purposeful sniper: aim, shoot and score. He has great physicality and power in the air. As Alex Garcia warned, "opponents will suffer from this player every time they face him".
Girona are rubbing their hands and are happy with Dovbik. Especially since he has been at Girona for just over a week: "We have high hopes for him, but you have to be calm. He has just arrived and is in the process of adapting to the city, the team. In the match against Sociedad he played 30 good minutes, just as Stuani played an exceptional 60 minutes. We have two strikers who guarantee us a goal and a team that will assist them. I think he is a player who can help us do that and has different characteristics to Stuani, but they are two strikers who complement each other perfectly and can even play together. Dovbik improves us and complements us, I'm happy that he has already scored a goal," commented coach Michel on the Ukrainian's performance.
It is true that he still needs an adaptation process, also because of the language, but in the rojiblanco locker room he has the best mentor, his teammate Viktor Tsygankov. Both have already made it clear that the Ukrainian connection works very well, as it was the two of them who organised that goal. "Girona seem to have found a very good player."
Mundo Deportivo
"The Ukrainian link-up player saves Girona. Dovbik scored a very quick goal in his debut match" - a journalist from the Mundo Deportivo website is delighted with Dovbik's first game, but also notes the importance of Tsygankov for Girona.
"Immediate performance. Any coach asks for the pieces that make up the puzzle to be adapted as soon as possible, even more so in the current championship. Girona's Ukrainian link-up took ten minutes to sow panic in San Sebastian. Dovbik and Tsygankov promise to throw a colourful party on Catalan soil, and they tried to make that clear from the moment they exchanged glances on the pitch.
Michel's charges started the match with plenty of complications. The Basques played better and rightly scored a goal. It might not have ended there for Girona, who looked confused in the first half. And after the break, Dovbik and Pablo Torre came on like oxygen for a suffocating man. Tsygankov only needed to move to the right flank to prove himself again. Meanwhile, Le Norman, who had already survived a confrontation with Stuani, saw a two-metre divot catch up with him. It was Dovbik, and he was ready to spoil the mood of the defenders.
The Ukrainian winger's delivery towards the most expensive purchase in Girona's history was almost perfect. The undoubted power of the Ukrainian forward helped the draw, and Dovbik's cool celebration, almost stone-faced, emphasised how confident he was.
"Girona" celebrated the draw that the Ukrainians helped it to get. The qualities of each of them, expressed on a green pitch, allowed the rojiblancos to get a very valuable point against a team that will soon be playing in the Champions League."
Marca
"Dovbik makes his debut in a big way," popular publication Marca recognised the Ukrainian as the best player of the match and gave him the highest rating in the game against Real Sociedad.
"Immediately three players made their debut for Girona in this match. Daley Blind and Savinho started at centre-back and right winger respectively, as well as Artem Dovbik, who came on in the second half. The former Dnipro 1 player made the score 1:1 in favour of his team, taking advantage of a productive pass from his compatriot Viktor Tsygankov, who once again demonstrated his skills in the final stretch of the match.
The striker was able, thanks to his size, to shoot on goal after receiving a very good pass from Tsygankov. Dovbik's first shot in La Liga was effective. The Ukrainian forward is already living up to expectations and it is clear why he has become the most expensive acquisition in Girona's history.
Relevo
"Ukrainian bundle saves Girona a point at Anoeta, Artem Dovbik's goal prevented Real Sociedad from winning at home" - the journalist of Relevo website tells about the fact that Dovbik's appearance on the pitch radically changed Girona's game, and Real Sociedad defenders did not know how to stop the Ukrainian forward.
"Saturday afternoon opened one of the games with the best football expectations last season. "Real Sociedad and Girona exude such respect and such exquisite ball handling that their duels usually don't disappoint. Not all of the crowd had settled into the stands when the home side had already opened the scoring. Kubo scored an important goal that should have helped Sociedad control the game. And so it was in the first half.
Real Madrid's victory lasted until Michel started to introduce fresh energy. In the 64th minute he made a triple substitution, during which Pablo Torre, Valeri and, above all, Ukrainian Dovbik came on the pitch. It was he who became the main hero of Girona and one of the heroes of the match. It was as if Tsygankov was waiting for him to start playing even better. When the two Ukrainians were on the pitch, they acted almost without error and helped Girona dominate the game. It was the two Ukrainians themselves who created the momentum and realised it. Tsygankov's cross and Dovbik's header hit the net. The defenders could not stop such a powerful player. Artem did not make a mistake and from the first match he started to earn the money that was spent on him. A transfer record? It does not seem to embarrass the Ukrainian, who could only dream of such a debut".
Anton Prokopov
