Europa League. Shakhtar win a draw in Lisbon and reach the 1/8 finals

28.02.2020 01:55

Photo by shakhtar.com

In the match against Benfica, the miners lost by two meters'but they were able to play and move on to the next stage of the tournament.

In comparison with the first match in Kharkov, there were two changes in Shakhtar's squad. Instead of Bolbat, Dodo came on the field from the starting minutes, who was disqualified, and instead of Kovalenko, Marcos Antonio was among the first 11. Victor's absence was caused by health problems and looked like a serious loss, given the significant contribution of the Ukrainian midfielder to the positive result for the Pitmen a week earlier.

Shakhtar failed to start the match. Benfica staged a real siege for the Orange and Blacks, effectively depriving them of the ball. A series of moments at Pyatov's goal ended with a goal by Pizza. The captain of the hosts, not meeting the resistance of Dodo and Marcos Antonio, passed freely with the ball and struck a shot into the bottom corner. 1: 0.

But such an account did not last long. Apparently, the goal relaxed the hosts a bit, which Luis Castro's wards took advantage of almost instantly. And the ball in return was organized by the same Brazilian miners who did not show themselves in the best way three minutes earlier. Marcos Antonio made a diagonal on Dodo, and the right defender shot at Moraes, in the fight with which Ruben Dias scored an own goal.

However, the Portuguese defender also managed to rehabilitate fairly quickly. During the corner, Ruben Dias outplayed Matvienko in the air and hit Shakhtar's goal with his head. The score after the two matches became absolutely equal. In general, by the end of the first half, Donetsk managed to equalize the statistics of possession of the ball, but the hosts looked faster than the Portuguese. 

Photo by shakhtar.com

The second half started for Shakhtar almost in the same way as the first. Already at the beginning of the 45th minute, the disagreement between Matvienko and Pyatov in a simple situation led to the loss of the ball and goal by Rafa Silva. But again the miners' response was immediate. Stepanenko after a corner kick performed by Tyson irresistibly hit his head. 3: 2.

The score already suited the champion of Ukraine, and the remaining time the guests spent much more confidently than the previous minutes. And Alan Patrick's goal, which they organized after a beautiful multi-pass combination, finally buried the hopes of "Benfica".

As part of Shakhtar, Ukrainian national team players took part in the game: Pyatov, Kryvtsov, Matvienko, Stepanenko (goal), Marlos (substituted in the 62nd minute), Moraes, Konoplyanka (substituted in the 86th minute, yellow card) .

Shakhtar will get their next opponent in the Europa League tomorrow during the draw of the 1/8 finals (the ceremony will start in Nyon - at 14.00 Kyiv time).

Photo by shakhtar.com

Europa League. 1/16 finals. Match answer

Benfica (Portugal) - Shakhtar (Ukraine) - 3: 3 (2: 1)

Goals: Pizza (9), Ruben Dias (36), Rafa Silva (47) - Ruben Dias (12, own goal), Stepanenko (49), Alan Patrick (71).

Benfica: Vlachodimos, T. Tavares, Ruben Dias, Ferru, Grimaldo, Shikinho (Seferovich, 67), Weigl, Taarabt, Rafa Silva, Pizzi (k) (Zota, 79), Diego Sousa (Vinisius, 79).

Substitutions: Svilar, Servi, Florentine, N. Tavares.

Trainer: Bruno Lage.

Shakhtar: Pyatov (k), Dodo, Kryvtsov, Matvienko, Ismail, Stepanenko, Marcos Antonio, Alan Patrick (Khocholava, 90 + 2), Marlos (Tete, 62), Tyson (Konoplyanka, 86), Moraes.

Substitutions: Shevchenko, Maicon, Bolbat, Fernando.

Trainer: Louis Castro.

Referee: Björn Capers (Netherlands).

Booked: Rafa Silva (50) - Ismaili (43), Tyson (83), Konoplyanka (87).

February 27. Lisbon. Estadio do Benfica Stadium.

Debut - 1: 2.

Photo by shakhtar.com