In the final game of the Champions League group stage, Shakhtar lost away to Porto (3:5) and prematurely retired from this most prestigious European football tournament.
In a conversation with the Sport.ua correspondent, popular former striker Ihor Yavorskyy, who later successfully proved himself as a coach, told us what prevented the Pitmen from achieving a winning result in Portugal, which would have guaranteed their participation in the play-offs.
Igor Yavorsky- In my opinion, the visitors' coach Marino Pušić chose the right tactical plan. The return of the experienced Rakitskiy to the centre of defence and Matvienko to his left flank indicated an attempt to keep their goal intact for as long as possible. Then gradually move the game away from their possession and look for chances in counter-attacks or standard positions.
Unfortunately, this plan didn't work, as the hosts scored a quick goal without much difficulty. Apparently, Pušić makes his new charges move to the other half of the pitch with the help of short passes, and while the Pitmen have no problems with this in the domestic arena, in the Champions League, where everything is done much faster, it led to unfortunate mistakes that led to conceded goals. Expect disaster when you can't keep up with an opponent who has quicker feet and thought.
And when a lucky break helped Sican to equalise, it had no effect on the 'direction' of the game, which remained under Porto's control. Unfortunately, the missed goal, as they say, only added to the hosts' confidence that everything would end well for them.
- "Shakhtar" pleased with the high performance, but there were no counterarguments against the hosts. Why?
- "Porto" is the kind of team that plays itself and allows the opponent to do it. Yesterday, the visitors did not impress with their reliability in defence; moreover, the Pitmen's inept tackling allowed the Citizens to attack effectively across the front thanks to their runs on the flanks. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Portuguese teams have always been renowned for their technical preparation.
- Even with maximum motivation, did Shakhtar have no chance to play better?
- The very first minutes of the game showed that the mood of the Citizens was even better. But the main thing is that Porto players were of a higher class. This had an impact on the game.
Of course, it's nice that the Pitmen kept the intrigue until the end, but they didn't make another decisive step forward.
In my opinion, the Pitmen have performed well this season, despite a very difficult time. To pick up nine points in such a strong group is a decent result. It is important that Donetsk's youngsters have gained valuable international experience, which will definitely come in handy in the Europa League next spring. If the Pitmen manage to retain all their leaders, they have every chance to make a loud statement in the second highest ranked continental tournament.
