randomness or pattern? – football.ua

Agribusiness – Shakhtar, Photo: FC Shakhtar
March 4, 2021 at 1:00 p.m.

Last weekend, Shakhtar Donetsk lost in the championship to Luhansk Zarya. And if this result was somewhat unexpected, it still did not cause as much surprise as a result of the cup showdown. What happened the day before in Kiev at the Dynamo stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskiy in the Agribusiness match against Shakhtar is difficult to understand. Surely the coaching staff of the Donetsk club will not mention any reason now.

Let’s ponder whether this defeat is a sign of deep-seated problems, or is it the same notorious “stick” that shoots up once a year.

The starting line-up for the game against Agronegocios included players who have less play practice at Shakhtar, but this cannot be considered the main reason for the loss. After all, even the players in Shakhtar’s rotation have a much higher level than those who play in Agribusiness. Konoplyanka, Pyatov, Bolbat were the leaders and main players of the national team yesterday, and so it cannot be said that the Shakhtar squad is inexperienced. Of the truly “green” players, only Georgy Sudakov appeared on the field, but there are fewer complaints about his game.

The individual level of Shakhtar players is much higher than that of any other player in Ukraine. Both Shakhtar’s rivals and Donetsk club players know this. The Pitmen win many games at UPL precisely because of their class, without overwork. Why are there coincidences? The last championship was won with such a relaxed pace. It is true that without making any transfers, it is difficult to expect that this situation will repeat from year to year.

Fresh blood is still needed for the necessary microclimate within the team and the creation of a healthy competitive atmosphere. Do you remember why Sergei Rebrov did not renew his contract with the Dynamo? The appearance of new players in the squad is not just a kind of whim, but a necessity of modern football. The arrival of ambitious new players forces the club’s veterans not to reduce their demands and to work with total dedication.

Now we are seeing a picture where a generational change is simply necessary in the Shakhtar. Marlos, due to a decrease in his speed qualities, plays closer to the center of the field, than the team suffers in the defensive phase. Tyson hasn’t seemed indispensable to the club for a long time. His constant mood swings are definitely not good for the team’s microclimate. Amicably, Shakhtar was simply forced to ditch that player a few transfer windows ago.

In winter, Sergei Palkin said in an interview that the club was looking for reinforcement at the forward position. Junior Moraes’ decline in performance suggests that the Brazilian really needs good competition and needs a footballer who can replace him equally. With all due respect to Fernando, he is still not shooting for this role, and Dentinho has never fully and is not fully shooting.

A big surprise is the refusal of the Shakhtar leadership to think about strengthening defensive positions. For the championship of Ukraine, the available participants are enough, but to solve more global problems in European competitions, no. We have already written about why David Khocholava should leave Shakhtar. With his game, the Georgian footballer only confirms the veracity of our judgments. What can we say, if Sergei Petrov, with a height of 197 centimeters, managed to flee at full speed from David in yesterday’s match.

Anyway, the Agronegocios forward general looked good. He held on to the ball, played well, quickly accelerated his team’s attacks and managed to fight in the final stage. He “patted” Khocholava very well with Krivtsov. Is it difficult to understand if Petrov is that good or if the Shakhtar defenders seemed so weak? In any case, it is not clear how a footballer of such qualities and dimensions did not get into teams like Kolos, Alexandria or Vorskla. There he would definitely not get lost.

Let’s go back to Shakhtar and yesterday’s game. Could the Donetsk club have won? Of course it could. Let’s at least remember Alan Patrick’s punishment. If the Brazilian had scored his penalty spot and beat Shakhtar 1-0, then this material would not have been necessary. But the symptoms of trouble were in every Pitmen game this year. Even in the matches against Maccabi, where Anatoly Trubin did not concede a single goal, however, he had more than enough work to do. And if the Israelis had a bit more luck and if their individual skill level were a bit higher, then it could all end badly for Shakhtar in the Europa League.

So, regarding the first half of the game against Agribusiness, there are many questions for Shakhtar. The First League team had a number of good approaches to Pyatov’s goal and looked even sharper in attack.

The miner acted presumptuously. One had the impression that the Pitmen were confident that their leisurely movement of the ball across the field would sooner or later pay off, and the opponent would make a mistake, and the opponent was in no hurry to make mistakes.

Only a person inside, who sees and understands the situation, can answer the question of what is happening with the Miner. We can only guess the true reasons for the latest results.

Sergei Gorbachenko, Football.ua