Having received four goals at the start from the favorites of the D, Shakhtar and Olympiakos favorites for the meeting in Donetsk, they fully realized the seriousness of the situation, clearly expressed by the host coach Mircea Lucescu: “The loser will not be able to count on either of the first two places.” Does this mean that the final 2: 2 satisfied both sides?
Olympiacos didn’t upset anyone for sure. In the Piraeus club, they pretty much forgot, or even stopped dreaming about champions at a party. Since the 97/98 season, the team has played 28 away matches in the tournament and has never won with only 7 draws. So Trond Solled, before the Donetsk meeting, openly admitted that he was not averse to taking at least one point from Ukraine. Noticing, however, that everything ever happens for the first time.
... Shakhtar spent a good first half, surpassing the opponent in all statistical indicators. But the hosts went for a break in embarrassment: zeros on the scoreboard were equivalently replaced by ones. Moreover, the champions of Ukraine had to recoup (after the intermission, by the way, again). At the 24th minute, Castillo earned applause three times as stormy as the goal scorer Konstantin. The Olympiakos midfielder from his half made a terrific raid, dodging tackles three times (Shakhtar captain Tymoshchuk wasted twice) and coolly put the ball into the legs of his partner. Not to complete such a counterattack would be blasphemy.
The hosts, as if having realized how easy it is to use more or less worthwhile moments, soon recouped. To begin with, however, in a quickly organized assault, they held several rehearsals. Lewandowski shook the crossbar, and a hit by Tymoschuk neutralized Nikopolidis. This gray-haired goalkeeper, along with Constantine and Castillo, made perhaps the most significant contribution to the honorable draw for the Greeks. The return goal of Matuzalem from the free kick will be left on conscience not so much as a goalkeeper, as many defenders. Anatolakis (then replaced during the break for a reason) was carried away by the guardianship of the opponent and missed the ball, which flew exactly into the corner of the goal.
The second half did not change either the hosts' firm intentions to snatch victory, or the efficiency of these intentions. Even the scenario of the first half was repeated. At the 68th minute, the miner goalkeeper Shust “slightly” had a little bite, knocking the ball in front of him after a powerful shot by Marich. Castillo, who came running in, scored in an unconventional way: either with his chest, or with his stomach, hardly with his hand, which means that the essence of what happened is beyond doubt. Two minutes later, Marika regained his balance, being faster than the defenders in the penalty area ...
The Donetsk result was clearly in favor of Roma and Valencia. On the field of "bats" they had a much more highly rated match. It was one of the best first halves of the game of the day, decorated with all three goals of the meeting. Angulo with a pretty hit on the move realized Vicente backache. And in the middle of the 45-minute, Villa, having gained an excellent shape, put the ball into the near corner, as if offended by the inattention of the defenders to his person. In the interval between the joys of the hosts, Totti scored a penalty. By the way, indisputable. The way Moretti grabbed and dropped Cassetti on the lawn amused even the hostile Roma audience.
“Valencia” with two victories now leads alone. And not without reason, he hopes to overcome the group stage after two fights with the now fearless Shakhtar de jure. However, that will be so, hardly anyone doubted before the start.
Nikolay HODASEVICH