Illogical draw: Shakhtar and Feyenoord did not reveal the strongest in the first leg of the 1/8 Europa League

Before the match with Feyenoord, Igor Jovićević had enough headache. Due to disqualifications, three main defenders dropped out at once, so the Croatian specialist had to improvise for this match.

Thus, Rakitskiy came out at the start, and Nikolai Matvienko became the right central defender. Dmitry Topalov played on the left, and Lukas Taylor replaced Yefim Konoplya on the right flank.

First -20 minutes on the field there was a shortage of sharpness: the teams managed without dangerous moments. Then Feyenoord increased the pressure, but the experimental line of defense led by Rakitskiy coped with the threats of the guests. The teams went into the break with the score tied.

Trubin had to work with the beginning of the second half: Shakhtar’s right flank began to sag, where the stubborn Hartman was pushing through Lucas Taylor. The miner held on, and on the 70th minute he unexpectedly scored. Sudakov completed the serve from the corner, and Rakitskiy was able to smuggle the ball into the goal with his back. Shakhtar failed to keep the advantage: Bullaude, who replaced him, headed the ball into the goal, taking advantage of Taylor’s positional error.

At the end of the match, Shakhtar could have conceded more, but the opponents were no longer lucky. Thus, the match ended in an illogical draw: Feyenoord seemed to have more advantage, but conceded. On the other hand, Shakhtar could have kept the win, but also conceded. Now everything will be decided in Rotterdam.

2022-, Europa League