On Tuesday, February 11, the youth team of «Dynamo» played its first official match in 2025. In the Round of 16 of the UEFA Youth League for the 2024/2025 season, Igor Kostyuk’s team faced the Italian «Atalanta». It should be noted that at this stage the winner was determined based on a single match.
UEFA Youth League. Round of 16
«DYNAMO U-19» (Kyiv, Ukraine) — «ATALANTA U-19» (Bergamo, Italy) — 3:3 (6:7 on penalties)
Goals: Kamara (23, own goal), Ponomarenko (28), Kremchanin (45) — Goghi (12), Fiogbe (63, 70)
Yellow cards: Korobov (18), Tretyak (89), Ponomarenko (90+3), Salenko (90+5) — Idela (54).
«Dynamo»: 71. Surkis (c), 13. Korobov (24. Tretyak, 80), 4. Zakharchenko, 5. Sizyonyuk (8. Bilyi, 90+3), 26. Hubenko, 6. Peikrishvili, 18. Salenko, 22. Osipenko (25. Lusin, 80), 20. Redushko (30. Andriyko, 75), 7. Kremchanin, 11. Ponomarenko.
«Atalanta»: 12. Dzanki, 5. Hetzi (3. Simonetto, 46), 19. Tavanty, 2. Gobbo, 10. Bananomi (28. Arrigoni, 84), 25. Steffanani, 17. Gariani (46. Fiogbe, 55), 32. Idela, 27. Bonsinyori Goghi (13. Isoa, 65), 21. Baldo (45. Damiano, 46), 30. Kamara.
During the first minutes, Dynamo's players Salenko and Ponomarenko were active, but overall the match was started more aggressively by the Italians, who immediately began to create pressure near Surkis's goal. In particular, they earned a dangerous free kick, but the shot from the set piece was inaccurate. However, the opponents soon managed to take the lead. Surkis dealt with Banonomi’s first shot from around the penalty area, but Goghi was first on the rebound and directed the ball past our goalkeeper — 0:1.
In the middle of the half, the Kyiv team managed to equalize — a set piece led to the goal. Redushko delivered a corner kick, and Kamara, trying to clear the ball as far away as possible, deflected it into his own net — 1:1. The guests responded with a dangerous shot from Bananomi, but the Italian couldn’t hit the target. After that, the Ukrainians felt more confident, pushed forward with renewed energy, and soon took the lead: Osipenko made a wonderful pass from the penalty area to Ponomarenko, and Matviy did not waste his opportunity, heading the ball into the net from a few meters away — 2:1.
The match continued to be fiercely contested, with both teams attacking quickly, almost without midfield involvement. As the half drew to a close, it became increasingly difficult for «Atalanta» to create danger near Kyiv’s goal. However, «Dynamo» executed a great counterattack, after which Salenko was breaking towards the goal from Redushko’s pass, but the Italians were saved by the post, which took Roman's shot! We also note a good shot from Osipenko on target, which Dzanki caught while jumping, saving his team.
Finally, shortly before the halftime whistle, even he could not help when Kremchanin broke through to the opposing goal. Dmytro won the battle with the defender and scored the third goal low with his left foot — 3:1. And with that, the teams went into the break.
As soon as the second half started, the Italians tried to cut the deficit, but initially Surkis and then Sizyonyuk neutralized the threat. At the opposite end, Ponomarenko attempted a dangerous shot, but the ball went past the goal. Overall, «Atalanta» had more ball possession and attempted to threaten the Ukrainian goal from set pieces, but our boys managed to eliminate the danger, and after a quick counterattack, they nearly scored themselves. Korobov was close, but the goalkeeper overtook him for a moment.
However, the opponents fully capitalized on their opportunity: after a long cross from the right, Surkis could not hold the ball, and Fiogbe, who had just come on as a substitute, tapped it into the empty net 3:2. Just a minute later, the same Fiogbe blocked Sizyonyuk’s attempt to clear the ball, seized it, and accurately shot into the corner of the net, equalizing the score — 3:3.
Immediately, Redushko missed two consecutive opportunities to score and forced Dynamo fans to put their heads in their hands. In both cases, the goalkeeper Dzanki saved the day. Our goalkeeper was also kept busy — Surkis caught the ball after a center shot. And already in stoppage time, Andriyko missed an incredible chance to snatch victory — Ivan broke towards the goal and took a shot from a good position — the goalkeeper coped.
Thus, the dramatic draw ended 3:3 — and the fate of the ticket to the 1/8 finals of the UEFA Youth League was determined by a penalty shootout. The penalties were also very tense and emotional. The teams had to take 9 shots instead of 5! Unfortunately, it was the players of «Atalanta» who did better — 6:7. So the Italian team progressed to the next stage of the competition.
