Dynamo Play First Match After Quarantine: Not Everyone and Not Everything Is Fine

A rehearsal before the Classic.

Ukrainian clubs only began training last week after an almost two-month break caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. So in one of the first matches after the pause, in which Dynamo met Rukh from the First League, high speeds and colorful football were not to be expected. Even though players were supposed to maintain their fitness during quarantine, here both the legs had to remember how to handle the ball and the head — restoring playing connections takes more time than a week, after all.

On the other hand, the break offered a great opportunity for Dynamo's coaching staff, led by Oleksiy Mykhailychenko, to implement their ideas, and — if not on the football pitch, then in the format of video conferences and individual communication with players — to bring the team closer to the game he wants to see at the end of this season and in the new one.

Dynamo, which could not count on the injured Viktor Tsygankov, Nikita Burda and Mykola Shaparenko, played the first half in a 4-1-4-1 formation: with Serhiy Sydorchuk as the holding midfielder and Volodymyr Shepelev on the right flank of attack. As with the team's play before the break as a whole, the experiment with the Kyiv side's 'number eight' in Tsygankov's position did not turn out particularly well.

Shepelev is about offering himself, keeping the ball, turning the attack, being a supporting element in moving forward. But when it comes to adding speed to the team in the final phase and making decisions in the box, that's not quite his thing — he is a different type of footballer after all.

He had already made his mark before the break with participation in one decent attack with a nice diagonal from Shabanov and a stylish dribble near the touchline, but in the second half of the match, when Dynamo switched to a 4-2-3-1 and Shepelev dropped into central midfield alongside Sydorchuk, it was immediately noticeable that he is now in his right place. This also affected the team's play — after the break Dynamo created several very interesting chances.

First, Serhiy Sydorchuk could have scored in several cases, as he was sent into shooting positions within 20-25 meters of the opponent's goal after interesting combinations. Second, Carlos De Pena, who, despite all the skepticism right after his arrival at the club (at least mine), is gradually showing that he is one of the most interesting attacking players on the team.

The 28-year-old Uruguayan himself twice threatened the opposing goal dangerously, shooting from not the most lethal positions — in the first case the goalkeeper managed to parry a direct shot from a corner, and in the second the crossbar came to his rescue. On top of that, he also delivered an excellent cross into the box, which Denys Popov, who had joined the attack, nearly turned into a goal.

Given that Tsygankov will not play against Shakhtar on June 6, those thirty minutes against Rukh may well leave room on the right flank of attack for precisely De Pena. The choice between him and the more hardworking, but less, um, overall capable Karavaev — is one of the main questions for Mykhailychenko when preparing for Shakhtar in general and Ismaily in particular.

On the opposite flank, Dynamo's coaching staff should also pay attention, because against Rukh Vitaliy Mykolenko showed himself very unconvincingly. One of the Kyiv side's main hopes seems to have got up on the wrong foot — the young left-back managed almost nothing in this match. First an unsuccessful reception, then an unsuccessful low cross, then an unsuccessful high delivery, then losing position at the back and, as a result, the most dangerous moment at Dynamo's goal (there, admittedly, the cover from Andriyevskyi could also have been better).

As for attack, what worries is both the absence of a goalscoring centre-forward and the absence of a footballer capable of providing goals by arriving from deep and attacking in a second wave. Rukh gave the Dynamo players at least four good chances to shoot from good positions just outside the box, but the goalkeeper was not even troubled: Verbych, Shepelev and twice Sydorchuk sent their shots wide. At the tip of the attack, Rusyn was Rusyn, and Sol was Sol: the Ukrainian lacked the composure and skill to take advantage of the opponent's gifts, while the Spaniard always found himself where there was no ball.

In terms of build-up play, Mykhailychenko's ideas are visible, but with this execution, playing Shakhtar on June 6 will be difficult for Dynamo. Still, it is also worth watching Shakhtar in the Sunday match against the same Rukh before drawing any global conclusions.