Former Ukraine national team defender Volodymyr Mikitin expressed his opinion on the first match of the Europa League group stage between Dynamo Kyiv and Lazio.
Photo: fcdynamo.com
- It is an axiom in soccer: everything starts with defense. How many critical arrows have already been fired in the direction of Dynamo defenders, but they do not learn from mistakes. And in the last calendar match in UPL with "Ruh" only the helplessness of the Lvivians' forward Igor Krasnopyr helped Kyivians to avoid trouble. And yesterday the defenders of the nominal hosts remained true to themselves, they were not sinless, but the Romans, unlike Krasnopyr, did not forgive blunders.
- But it can not be said that Kyiv's defense lacked concentration and desire.
- It just has such a mediocre level. And in games on the international arena it immediately makes itself felt.
- At the same time, Marco Baroni, the guests' manager, entrusted a place in the starting lineup to a whole group of reserves, who easily defeated Dynamo's base.
- These are the realities. Lazio's class was noticeably higher than Dynamo's. After all, Kyiv not only defended poorly, they were not happy with the realization of chances. The Romans scored almost everything they created, while Kyivians capitulated to the guests' goalkeeper.
By the way, it has become a habit for the Ukrainian national team and clubs to start with defeats in prestigious competitions. Apparently, this is already a trend. However, I am glad that defeats at the start do not knock our representatives out of the rut, they are fighting to the end to improve the situation. Let's hope that not everything is lost for Dynamo players, that with the return of Denis Popov the back will become more reliable. Then things will be more fun ahead.
Dmitry Verbinsky
