Referee: Herenda, Kalush
Linesmen: Priymak, Simferopol; Aleksandrenko, Vinnytsya

Shakhtar 4:0 Metalurh Z Adriano 35, Jadson 44, Hladkiy 48 (pen.), Fernandinho 84 Pyatov, Srna, Chyhrynskiy, Kucher, Shevchuk, Duljaj (Jadson 26), Lewandowski, Ilsinho (Willian 54), Fernandinho, Brandao, Adriano (Hladkiy 37) Postranskiy, Chelyadinskiy, Polivoy, Hodin, Kashevskiy, Lazarovych, Arzhanov (Santrapinskikh 61), Stepanenko, Kabanov (Pisotskiy 46), Tiharev, Nevmyvaka Hladkiy 74 Postranskiy 35, Lazarovych 41, Arzhanov 51, Hodin 67 Hodin 89

The main intrigue of the opening minutes of the match was created in the flank where Ilsinho and Srna were opposed by Hodin and Polivoy. After several unsuccessful attempts on attack by both sides Shakhtar were the first to create a dangerous episode. Luis Adriano’s bicycle shot wasn’t too strong but Postranskiy could only parry it clear and the defenders scrambled it for the corner.

Minutes later Srna went down his flank and passed back for Duljaj who crossed the ball into the area. Luis Adriano received the ball, turned with it and shot forcing the keeper to beat it in front of him once again. Metalurh responded with Hodin’s shot into far corner that Shakhtar keeper could only turn for the corner.

Seeing that visitors were able to launch counterattacks despite the two defensive midfielders in the home team, Lucescu decided to substitute Duljaj with Jadson. It took the Brazilian playmaker several minutes to settle on the pitch and then he created the first goal for his team. Lewandowski won the ball after aerial battle, then Luis Adriano headed it back to Jadson and received a great pass onto his path as an answer. The 20 years old forward was chased by Chelyadinskiy and met by the keeper who rushed out for him but managed to get to the ball first and lob it home over Postranskiy before being squeezed by both players. It appeared that Adriano suffered a concussion in this incident. He was stretchered out and replaced by Hladkiy.

After the goal the visitors became more active. Lazarovych went one-on-one with Pyatov but was adjudged to having handballed earlier and got the yellow card. Hodin made a dangerous cross from the left that was cleared away by Chyhrynskiy but only as far as Kashevskiy who shot from 30 meters but missed the goal.

One minute before the halftime break Fernandinho sent a long diagonal pass for Srna in the right flank who laid the ball off to Jadson. The Brazilian shot in low and Postranskiy was unable to stop the ball that took deflection off the ground – 2:0.

In the beginning of the second half Ilsinho went down at the corner of the goalkeeping area after the contact with Postranskiy and the referee Herenda awarded the penalty. It was a dubious decision as the video replay showed that the keeper didn’t touch the forward. Hladkiy took the spot kick to make the scoreline 3:0.

Metalurh had a great chance to score when they caught hosts on the break and Lazarovych and Santrapinskikh ran clear of the defenders but couldn’t outplay Pyatov. The next attack of Shakhtar resulted in another goal. Willian ran down the left flank and passed for Fernandinho in the center who flicked it further to Hladkiy in the left corner of the six-yard box. Oleksandr shot point blank but Postranskiy managed to deflect the ball but only as far as Fernandinho who sent it home with a sliding tackle – 4:0.

Even being four goals behind, visitors could score a consolation goal when Herenda awarded them the penalty kick after Hodin’s shot hit Kucher’s hand in the area. Hodin put the ball on the spot and shot into the top right corner but Pyatov leaped right there to palm it away.

Mircea Lucescu, Shakhtar head coach:

– Although we won 4-0 this match was a real challenge. Metalurh are good and well-organised team. They blocked many zones on the field and had two strikers in action. They were pretty dangerous and were difficult to tackle. This team played aggressively in the good sense of this word. It was obvious that at the beginning of the game we had certain difficulties.

Luis Adriano proved he was ready to sacrifice himself for the team. I don’t think there are many players who’d act like he did in such a situation. After that we started to control the match. Shakhtar were the dominating force after the break. But I think the players were already thinking about our next fixture in Luhansk and slowed down. I hope no one will get injured or cautioned.

- How is Luis Adriano now?

- He is being diagnosed at the moment, so I can’t say anything definite. We are in touch with our physios. Ilsinho, too, has a problem with a knee, tomorrow we shall know how he is doing. It was a very aggressive match.

- So, you are satisfied with the result but not with the performance…

- I am not happy with the way my players acted in certain situations. But in general, I am satisfied with the game. At some points they kept the football for too long, especially after they scored the third goal. There were too many long passes during first 20 minutes. This is why I substituted Duljaj. I asked the boys to try to avoid making long passes, and Jadson helped to control the football on the ground. This transformation of lineup troubled our rivals.

- Mr Lucescu, could you please evaluate Hladkiy’s performance? What seems to be the problem?

- He is going through difficult times. I am afraid I shall have to seriously talk to him. It is either his age or the spring, I don’t know. But he still doesn’t know what it means to be a professional player. He didn’t look determined enough today, committed many fouls. But his team-mates tried to support him and let him take the penalty kick. I hope this episode has helped him realize his mistakes. People expect more from him.

Anatoliy Chantsev, Metalurh Zaporizhya head coach:

– It was just another match for us. We didn’t practice any special tactical schemes. We didn’t expect we could lose at such a big score. There was discipline on the field, the boys played well-organized but the blunders they made in defense resulted in such a defeat.

- It seemed that your team broke down after the second goal, but the third goal seemed to have encouraged them. Is it a psychological instability?

- I don’t think it’s their weak side. I repeat, Shakhtar didn’t make any attempts on our goal till 35 minute. But later – two shots – two goals. We must make analysis of this match. There are certain problems in defense. Penalty kick in the second half did, too, contribute to our defeat.

- Don’t you think your goalkeeper played rather ruthlessly against Luis Adriano?

- I didn’t see it quite well from the bench. We shall watch the video later. Postranskiy made a general mistake: he should have stayed in the penalty box.

- What happened with Kabanov?

- He’s being seriously injured. I think it was Shevchuk who did it. Studs on his footwear are very sharp. I hope the Achilles’ heel isn’t injured. He is being examined by the doctors.