In the first round match of the Champions League 2024/2025 main round, Shakhtar Donetsk played away against Italian Bologna (0-0). Yuriy Gura, former Oleksandriya player and head coach, shared his thoughts on the game.
- What can be said here: Shakhtar are spoiled. The Pitmen, apparently, thought that they would easily take their opponents, but it did not happen. It was noticeable that in this meeting Bologna played with great desire, looking set for a positive result.
- Do you think, by chance, the Donetsk team could not be misled and somewhat relaxed by the current position of Bologna in the standings of the Italian Serie A?
- Yes, of course. We can see that Shakhtar do not have Ukrainian character. In this match Konoplya "broke", and even earlier Sikan was punched in the nose. And I did not see any spark in the eyes of the Donetsk team players.
- It is likely that everything could have turned out differently, if at the very beginning of the match Sudakov realized an eleven-meter penalty.
- This penalty, which is always considered a soccer lottery. His penalty was justified.
- How do you see Shakhtar's prospects in the current Champions League draw?
- The Pitmen need to rebuild, and then we can expect successful results in the next games. Everything is in their hands.
Dmytro Verbinski