On September 25, Dynamo Kyiv will start the group stage of the Europa League with a duel with Lazio (Italy). Oleh Fedorchuk, a well-known coach in the past and now an authoritative expert, told what he expects from tomorrow's clash in Hamburg:
- I won't be an original when I say that Kyiv have improved lately. Oleksandr Shovkovskiy's charges have a lot of combinations in their arsenal and it is important that they try to operate at high speeds. But will this reserve be enough to challenge Lazio? Especially since Dynamo's game, in addition to its pluses, still has a lot of vulnerabilities.
- Please, be more specific from this point.
- The center of defense remains problematic in Dynamo. It is not excluded that in time the Kyiv team's stoppers will make themselves loudly known, but now we cannot be 100 percent sure in them. And unreliable rear, believe me, negatively affects the team actions.
Secondly, the recent calendar match with "Ruh" showed the poor footwork of goalkeeper Georgiy Buschan. Remember at least what targeted passes he made to the guests' forward Igor Krasnopyr. Fortunately for Kyiv, he acted very straightforwardly when he found himself one-on-one with Buschan. Although for the sake of fairness it should be said that at the last moment Georgiy eliminated the danger after he created chances. And it should be taken into account that Lazio's forwards have better execution skills than Krasnopyr.
Thirdly, Dinamo's forwards did not impress further. In particular, the newcomer Guerrero is not living up to expectations yet. In Zorya he was, as they say, a free artist, playing as he pleased. "Dynamo is a much more organized team and it became immediately noticeable that the Panamanian does not fit into the ensemble. The helmsman Shovkovskiy will have a lot of trouble with him.
- If we are talking about the match with Ruh, the Kyivians were bothered by the high pressing adopted by Lviv.
- Kyivians were not always able to get out from under the pressure, because they lacked speed. Moreover, Ruch pleased with good organization of the game. Dynamo had to work on the mistakes made quickly, because Lazio after the departure of several veterans, began to play much more intensively and in the transition phase can create problems for Kyiv.
- Then what can Dynamo players count on tomorrow in Hamburg?
- We can only hope that the status of the confrontation will force them to be as concentrated as possible, especially at home. Secondly, Lazio didn't exactly start well in Serie A and, in order to save their strength for the Italian championship, may field a sub-optimal lineup tomorrow. Then it will come in handy for Dynamo. Still, the main thing is that the Kyiv midfield - the main striking force - should not fail. I tend to believe that everything will end with the signing of the peace agreement, which will be a good achievement for the Ukrainian team,
Maxim Kovalenko