Ihor Tsyhanyk on Pikhalenko: "Remember who was the last person at Dynamo who could shoot like that from outside the penalty area

Famous Ukrainian journalist and commentator Ihor Tsyhanyk expressed his opinion on the performance of Dynamo midfielder Oleksandr Pikhalenko at the start of this season.

"I want to single out Pikhalenko because I think he is a very serious weapon for Dynamo. Remember who was the last person in Dynamo Kyiv who could shoot like that from outside the penalty area as a central midfielder. In my memory, I remember Kalitvintsev and Belkevych. Well, Velozu, maybe, but he rarely came up.

Look at the goals Pikhalenok is scoring now, what is the power of a shot, what is the ability to break through and what is a good shot. He gave Rangers a great slam, and he gave Karpaty a great slam. This is a very serious acquisition for Dynamo. Pikhalenok is the leader of Dynamo. He is the person, the joker, the player that Dynamo lacked. A person who can do everything.

There is a problem that he is not always active in selection. He may not have the same reactive speed, but after his passes, the ball flies much faster than any player can run. So this is a disadvantage on the one hand, and an advantage on the other.

Now it is noticeable that he has already integrated into the game of Dynamo Kyiv. This player was sorely missed at Euro 2024. Rebrov explained why he did not take Pikhalonok: he was injured and took a long time to recover. Pikhalenok deserves to play in the opening match of the Nations League against Albania," the Vzbirna telegram channel quoted Tsyhanik as saying.