Shakhtar and Dynamo draw 0-0 in Matchday 12 of the UPL

• Shakhtar and Dynamo played out a 0-0 draw in the headline match of UPL Matchday 12 in Lviv.
• Vinícius Tobias received a red card in the 53rd minute after a strike from Vladyslav Dubinchak.
• In the first half, both teams had five shots, two of them on target; possession was 58% to 42% in Shakhtar’s favor.

A goalless draw in the round’s headline match

The headline match of the 12th round of the Ukrainian Premier League between Donetsk’s Shakhtar and Kyiv’s Dynamo ended goalless. The game took place on Sunday, November 8, at Arena Lviv and kicked off at 18:00. Despite Donetsk being the home team, the match was played in Lviv. The rivals faced off in a fiercely contested match in which the final score of 0–0 reflected the lack of converted chances, but not a lack of dangerous attacks.

The goalless draw was a striking contrast to the clubs’ previous meeting: they had faced each other in the Ukrainian Cup round of 16 just days earlier. Shakhtar won 3–0, with the Donetsk side securing a commanding result while enjoying a numerical advantage. The league match followed a different script: neither team scored, and in the second half it was a Shakhtar player who received a red card. The cup result was therefore not repeated, and the latest “Classic” was a more cautious and tense affair.

The match began with Shakhtar trying to seize the initiative: as early as the fourth minute, the hosts pushed forward in numbers into the opposition half, but Alisson’s pass for Oleh Ocheretko to shoot was inaccurate. Dynamo responded with pressing and attacks of their own. In the seventh minute, Shola Ogundana was hit in the face by the ball and needed medical attention. Overall, the opening exchanges showed that both teams were ready to look for a way to goal, although they did not always manage to finish their attacks with accurate shots.

First half: an even contest with chances at both ends

In the first part of the half, danger came from set pieces and long-range efforts. In the 12th minute, Gleiker Mendoza fired over after a corner routine, while Aliou Tiare’s shot following a corner in the 24th minute was blocked. Dynamo replied with a long-range effort from Nazar Voloshyn that went wide of the post and an attempt from Oleksii Sych: Dmytro Riznyk dealt with it confidently on the goal line. These chances did not produce any goals, but they kept the game from becoming a battle confined to the center of the pitch.

By the middle of the half, Dynamo Kyiv were pressing high, but they had yet to gain any noticeable advantage from it. Shakhtar were also struggling with the final pass: a dangerous attack in the fourth minute ended with an inaccurate pass, and later Georgiy Bushchan collected the ball after Yegor Nazaryna’s free-kick delivery. In the 16th minute, Dynamo were forced into a substitution: the injured Oleksandr Tymchyk was replaced by Oleksiy Sych. It was an early change for the Kyiv side.

As halftime approached, the teams created several particularly notable chances. In the 37th minute, Nazar Voloshyn found himself almost one-on-one, but Riznyk saved Shakhtar, and a corner followed. A minute later, Matviy Ponomarenko’s shot went just wide of the near post, and in the 39th Bushchan saved Alisson’s close-range effort. Late in the half, Alisson’s long-range shot struck the post. However, none of these chances changed the score before the break.

The sending-off changed the course of the match, but not the score

The half-time statistics confirmed how evenly matched the teams were in the first half. Both sides had five shots, with two on target each. Shakhtar had more possession, though: 58% to Dynamo’s 42%. These figures describe only the first half and do not in themselves mean that either side had full control of the game: both teams had chances to score, but the goalkeepers and defenders kept their opponents from turning their attacks into goals.

After the break, the key moment came in a series of incidents near Shakhtar’s penalty area. A confrontation broke out there in the 50th minute, and the referee went to review the incident on VAR. In the 53rd minute, Vinicius Tobias was shown a red card for striking Vladyslav Dubinchak; the Dynamo player was booked with a yellow card for his part in the incident. The sending-off left the Donetsk side a player down for the rest of the match and changed the conditions of the contest, but it did not automatically give the visitors an advantage on the scoreboard.

Shortly after the sending-off, Dynamo continued to look for chances in front of their opponents’ goal. In the 60th minute, Oleksii Sych won a corner, and by the 65th, as noted during the match, the Kyiv side had pinned the Donetsk team back in their penalty area. However, they were unable to find a good position to shoot from. Oleh Ocheretko’s attempt in the 62nd minute was blocked by Volodymyr Brazhko, while Mykola Shaparenko’s effort from a corner in the 68th minute did not result in a goal. The numerical advantage failed to produce a goal.

Late chances and an unresolved outcome

In the second half, the coaches began making substitutions. In the 54th minute, Alaa Ghram came on for Gleiker Mendoza; later, Dynamo replaced Matviy Ponomarenko and Nazar Voloshyn with Pierre Mungenge and Keasse Ba. For Shakhtar, Luca Ferreira replaced Alisson, then Newerton and Luca Meirelles came on for Marlon Gomes and Lassina Traore. Near the end, Valentyn Rubchynskyi and Gustavo Prado replaced Oleksandr Pikhalyonok and Shola Ogundana. The changes did not alter the result.

Despite pressure from the Kyiv side, Shakhtar also created chances after the break. In the 70th minute, Volodymyr Brazhko’s long-range shot failed to catch Riznyk off guard, while Ocheretko’s attempt in the 62nd minute was blocked. Near the end, Keasse Ba shot wide of the far post, then sent a powerful effort just over the bar. In the 87th minute, Aliu Tiare headed the ball over the bar from a yard out after a corner. These moments show that the match did not become a one-sided defensive effort after the sending-off.

The closing minutes brought danger at both ends, but no breakthrough. In the 88th minute, Bushchan saved Newerton’s close-range shot; in stoppage time, Rubchynskyi went down in the Shakhtar penalty area, but the referee did not award a penalty. After Dynamo failed to make the most of a free kick, Prado fired from distance on target, and Riznyk caught the ball. The referee added four minutes, after which the match ended 0–0. The match report does not provide enough information to determine how the result affected the teams’ positions in the standings.

Source: Champion.com.ua