Having drawn 1-1 with Salzburg in Austria in the second leg of the Champions League qualifying playoffs, Dynamo Kyiv's players have qualified for the second leg of the Champions League and will continue to play in the less prestigious Europa League. Honored Coach of Ukraine Myron Markevych assessed the performance of the Kyiv team and told what to expect from Shakhtar in the group round of the most prestigious continental football tournament:
- Despite the relegation from Salzburg, we should pay tribute to Dynamo's manager Oleksandr Shovkovskyi for the work he has done. Under his leadership, Kyiv began to act more diversely, increased team speed, and added functionality that allows them to maintain a high pace. Now Dynamo are more focused on positional offense. Of course, this progress would not have been possible without the progress of individual players.
- Who do you mean?
- In defense, first of all, young Mykhavko with his phenomenal first pass. In my opinion, in a year or two, he can become one of Dynamo's leaders, whom eminent European clubs will want to see, as well as Kabaev, Shaparenko, Pikhalenko.
- What did Dynamo lack to get past Salzburg, which is by no means one of the top teams?
- Realization of scoring chances. In the two matches, Kyiv created more threats than the opponent, but Salzburg scored three times, while Dynamo scored only once. If Dynamo wants to be visible in European competitions, it needs to add a textured striker who would cling to the ball and put pressure on the opposition's defense. Just remember yesterday's match in Salzburg. The visitors took more than ten corners, but the hosts easily won the second floor. Although, in general, Dynamo performed well in the first stages of the Champions League, having passed Partizan and Glasgow Rangers.
- What can we expect from Dynamo in the Europa League?
- Kyiv should advance from the group, of course, provided that they retain all their key players and avoid injuries. Still, by European Cup standards, we can't say that they have a long bench.
- Then finally, how do you assess the prospects of another Ukrainian representative, Shakhtar, in the Champions League group round?
- The Pitmen are currently unimpressive even in the domestic arena. Their teamwork in defense is particularly worrying. The most offensive thing is that we are talking about players who also play for the Ukrainian national team, which will face exams in the League of Nations in September. And if Shakhtar do not work quickly to correct their mistakes after the failure in the last round of the UPL in Oleksandriya, it will be difficult to avoid trouble on all fronts.
Dmytro Verbyinsky