Today, Shakhtar Donetsk will play the second match of the Europa League group stage, in which their opponent will be Italian Atalanta Bergamo. Former Shakhtar forward Viktor Grachev spoke about the expectations for the match, which will be held in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Victor Grachov"My expectations are about the same as they were before the game with Bologna. After all, that opponent, as well as Atalanta, are teams of approximately the same level. In terms of strength, power and play they are somewhat similar. All the time they are not far from each other in the Serie A standings - today one of them is a bit higher, tomorrow - the other. If we talk about the level, Atalanta and Bologna are the average players in the Italian championship. Anyone who has played against Italian teams and who has been to Italy more than once, knows very well what Italian soccer is and what a mid-tier of the elite division of this country is.
It is clear that Atalanta's experienced coach Gian Piero Gasperini has a good squad with good players at his disposal. And the mentor himself is quite a qualified specialist. No matter how many young players he does not take with him, he knows well how to build a game and achieve results. So a lot in Gelsenkirchen will depend not only on Atalanta, but also on Shakhtar's performance. What I see in the Ukrainian league and what I saw in the game against Bologna are slightly different things.
So now it's difficult to form an opinion about Shakhtar and how things will develop in the match. The fact is that the Pitmen are unpredictable at the start of the championship, and in the Champions League as well. Yes, it is clear that Bologna is a mid-table side in the Italian league, but I still think that the 0-0 result in the meeting with them is a good result. After all, starting the group round with a draw, and even with a difficult opponent, is a good thing," Grachev said.
