Shakhtar survived a difficult first half against Inter – football.ua

Shakhtar Donetsk in the first half of the key match against Inter Milan in Giuseppe Meazza did so without conceded goals (0: 0).

The start of the showdown brought us an unexpected tactical decision from the Portuguese mentor to the reigning Ukrainian champions, Luis Castro, to switch to a scheme with five defenders, where Taras Stepanenko took a place in the center. At the same time, Brazilian Tete was at the forefront of the attack, but there were big questions about his play in this position due to the low efficiency of his actions.

Already in the seventh minute, Shakhtar had to endure an unpleasant moment with the ball hitting the crossbar of his goal: Lautaro Martínez completed a pass from Nicolo Barella from the right wing. Inter focused their actions on the attack precisely in search of chances for the Belgian and the Argentine, but the Donetsk defense gradually got used to being under constant pressure, so time ended with more confidence than it had expected. it happened in its initial section.

In the possession of Anatoly Trubin there were a couple of dangerous situations, but the goalkeeper and the defenders faced the balls of the rivals at the cost of not so much effort. And everything would be fine, but only in the 36th minute did the Pitmen lose to Brazilian defender Vitao, who pulled the back of the thigh with one of the opponent’s interceptions from the right flank. Khocholava came out in place of an injured teammate and was unable to immediately enter the game.

The miner would be extremely stingy in attacking the chances created: Kovalenko’s long-distance shot at the start of the match was higher than the goal, and shortly before the break, Samir Handanovich too calmly fired Dodo’s shot from the wing. right to far nine. The guests finished the first part quite relaxed, which leaves some hope for the second part.

The Inter – Shakhtar match started at 22:00 Kiev time. Follow the online text stream on Football.ua.