In general, this tour continued a lot of the trends of the previous one. In the UPL, they defend more than they attack – and, most importantly, they do it better. With its defeat of Oboloni, Shakhtar almost brought the average performance to two goals per game – but, of course, it is much more telling that six of the 16 teams, almost half, could not stand out.

7 TOUR. 09/21/2024

13:00 Chornomorets 0:1 Carpathians Lviv 15:30 Alexandria 2:0 Left Bank 18:00 Dynamo Kyiv 0:0 Movement 7 TOUR. 09/22/2024

13:00 Heather 2:2 Ingulets 16:00 Kryvbas 1:1 Vorskla 18:00 Forested 1:1 LNZ 7 TOUR. 09/23/2024

15:30 Ear 1:0 Star 18:00 Miner 4:0 Obolon At the same time, of course, one of the trends of the championship was interrupted.

The move shocked Dynamo

Don’t believe headlines like “Dynamo lost points with Rukh”. According to the game, the way it developed, it was Rukh who lost points to Dynamo. In any case, it was very difficult for Bushan to parry at least two of Krasnopir’s blows. The Lviv club surpassed Dynamo in terms of the number of created moments, with the development of the match they kept the game in their hands more and more confidently – and, rather, they themselves were unhappy that the final whistle came so late.

What happened, Oleksandr Volodymyrovych? There is a great temptation to blame everything on a complicated calendar, but Dynamo will play at this pace at least until December. And it was for this that the Kyivans recruited a seemingly bottomless squad – but, I repeat, in the course of the game they became closer to defeat, and not to victory. If someone is interested in my opinion, then, in my opinion, Shovkovsky was late with the substitutions: Pihalyonok deserves to replace Buyalsky well before the 72nd minute, and Guerrero, in principle, deserves more than ten. In general, the game turned out in such a way that I no longer want to talk about Dynamo.

As Polissya showed in the second round how to act against Shakhtar, so Rukh showed what needs to be done to neutralize Dynamo. And the algorithm, by the way, is plus or minus the same: you need not to be afraid, not to go on the defensive with the whole team, hoping, as Klopp says, to win the lottery, but to press, attack and strain the opponent’s creative zone.

Buyalskyi, Shaparenko, and Yarmolenko found it more difficult to develop attacks due to the fact that they had to move back from time to time. And this happened precisely as a result of the attacks and pressure of the Movement. A great match between Fedor and Pidgursky – but Krasnopir, to be honest, could have realized at least one moment.

But praising the Lviv attack has already become a common place (let it be “many-headed”, and you have to praise different players over time). The defense is very pleasing in the new season. 21-year-old Didyk and 20-year-old Kholod have already adapted to adult football – so much so that there is nothing to surprise them at the UPL level. This season, they are playing without substitutions (Didyk’s substitution at 5:0 against Ingulets is not counted) – and Rukh played zero in five matches out of six, 11 halves out of 12!

Momo, who with his dribbling put them in a dead end and let LNZ turn 0:1 into 3:1 – a cheat code? Even so (or rather, Rukh’s defense simply could not learn the absolute rookie of the UPL), Rukh’s season started simply phenomenally. The team continues to progress – and in such cases they talk about the fight for European cups, but this is also a cliché now. In a situation where 4 teams from the league qualify for the European Cups, fighting for the European Cups is absolutely the same as for the championship. And now Rukh looks at a distance no worse than Dynamo and Shakhtar.

P.S. It is interesting that the youth teams of Dynamo and Rukh played in the same round 10:0. It’s a joke that all the naked people of Kyiv flew there, they joke even without me. I would say that this score symbolizes how one team has used up all the decent players to themselves, to the main ones – and does not stop extracting dividends from it. Another talent should be looked at: Mykolenko and Zabarny once played for the first team at the age of U-19.

On the other hand, when you already have players for three squads, it is very difficult to recruit juniors as well. And matches that you win by 10:0, by the way, only hinder, not help.

Standard League

Oleksandria, after a difficult match with Obolon, had a difficult one with Livy Bere. The only difference is that now it was possible to score – even two goals. Both goals were scored from set pieces, which gives Rotany’s team a more pragmatic face. Oleksandria no longer climbs into an exchange of goals in each round, it limits opponents quite well – and the development of work on standards organically fits into this development.

Add to that Veres’ double after corners; the winning goal of the Carpathians after a free kick; Veres’ penalty, with which he saved a draw; penalty kick to Kryvbas, after which he equalized the score; corner, after which Shakhtar opened the score; hitting the frame by Mustafaev, which could well have been a goal; Nonikashvili’s free kick, which was also a surprise for the goalkeeper – and we will come to the conclusion that the standards of our teams are almost the most successful.

The goals for Filippov and the rest of the game are still to come. There is no doubt that the line, which is so cherished by Rotan and Kravchenko, will work well. But in our league, as we can see, Shakhtar and Dynamo are closed in individual matches – and completely behind the game. It is also necessary to perform the rough part of preparation for the opponent – i.e. long and boring rehearsing penalty kicks and corner kicks.

Does the police care about the rejection of Makuan?

In a very eventful and spectacular match, LNZ was able to draw in Zhytomyr. Kucherenka had to work for glory, Polissya created quite enough for victory – but, nevertheless. A lot of unrealized moments, a draw with clear dominance from the game – in general, a normal phenomenon for a team without a leader. And it was the leader of Polissia who refused.

Beny Makuana was Polissia’s best player for most of last season. Then he was injured, in his absence the club did not lose a place in the European Cups – but in the offseason the club signed Oleksiy Hutsulyak. And in tandem with Oleksandr Nazarenko, an old acquaintance from Dnipro-1, Hutsulyak confidently secured a place in the base. Beni used to come on as a substitute, but after the game with Veres, he was sent to the double for a disciplinary violation.

And every such misfire, as with LNZ, will motivate everyone to look either at the tribune or at the bar where Makuana is sitting. For all that Nazarenko and Hutsulyak are undoubtedly very cool right now, Makuana was one of the best players in the entire league last season. He could be useful as a “joker”, as a false nine – and maybe one of the Ukrainians has stepped up… When a club, after one episode with a semblance of competition, immediately brings the matter to a reference to a double, this is a very bad sign. Dynamo and Shakhtar each have 20 stars somehow getting along.

Zorya is lower and lower

Supryaga made his debut in Zorya – immediately in the starting line-up. Moreover, Bartulovich even took Budkovsky to the reserve – and yes, most likely, forwards of this style are incompatible in a pair, but Philip recently scored a goal. Was it worth changing everything? As a result, Zorya gave Colossus the first victory hu in the season, and Supryaga did not stand out in anything.

No one even pays attention to this, but Lugansk lost four matches out of the last five. There is no question of any struggle for the European Cups: in the UPL, five teams surpass modern Zorya by three goals, and “just” surpass them by about 10. It wouldn’t matter, but the president, and various coaches, and people with blurred positions like Koval has repeatedly said: the team is critically dependent on UEFA’s income from the European Cups.

And everything would be fine, but the current Zorya is the least reminiscent of a club that breaks from bread to water. Four Legionnaires turned out against Kolos in the “start”, and recently there were seven – the maximum number allowed by the limit. Serbs, Croats, Brazilians, Nigerians, young people from Dynamo (this is not a nationality, if anything) come to Zaporizhzhia, and the club is rolling lower and lower.

In recent years, the Luhansk project, to be honest, looks stagnant.

Tour assistant

Shakhtar defeated Obolon in a very calm, everyday manner (especially since he played on Monday). Four days of rest after Bologna is a great success, and even against the background of injuries, the “miners” won their victory. But the match would have been significantly more difficult for the “miners” if they had not scored in the first half after a bicycle pass (!) from Vinicius.

Goal of the tour

Samson Iede has been playing in the championship of Ukraine for a long time. He has the technique, the ability to open up, and the understanding of partners. In order to reach a new level (so to speak, to reach the level of Ideye), Samson lacks high-quality implementation of moments – that is why he cannot confidently get out from behind Kovtaluk in Vorskla. Against Kryvbas, he started from the first minutes, most likely because he showed himself as a “joker” against Dynamo.

And in Kryvyi Rih, Iede made up for everything, scoring a miracle goal alone.

Coach: Ponomaryov (Movement)

# SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 M IN N P FORGET ABOUT MISCELLANEOUS AT FORM 1 Dynamo Kyiv 6 5 1 0 11 3 8 16 2 Alexandria 6 5 1 0 12 5 7 16 3 Forested 6 4 2 0 13 4 9 14 4 Miner 6 4 0 2 18 7 11 12 5 Movement 6 3 2 1 13 3 10 11 6 Kryvbas 6 3 2 1 6 5 1 11 7 LNZ 7 3 2 2 8 7 1 11 8 Vorskla 7 2 3 2 8 10 -2 9 9 Star 7 3 0 4 6 9 -3 9 10 Carpathians Lviv 7 2 2 3 9 11 -2 8 11 Ear 7 1 3 3 5 7 -2 6 12 Left Bank 7 2 0 5 4 9 -5 6 13 Chornomorets 7 2 0 5 3 8 -5 6 14 Heather 7 1 2 4 6 11 -5 5 15 Ingulets 7 0 4 3 5 12 -7 4 16 Obolon 7 0 2 5 2 18 -16 2