On Thursday, March 19, Shakhtar Donetsk, who won the first match in Poznan (3:1), played a nominally home match of the 1/8 finals of the Conference League against the Polish Lech at the Henryk Reiman Stadium in Krakow and barely eliminated their opponent from the tournament.
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Conference League. Round of 16. Second leg
Shakhtar (Ukraine) — Lech (Poland) — 1:2
Shakhtar: Riznik, Pedro Enrique, Marlon Santos, Gram, Vinicius, Nazarina (Isake, 62), Ocheretko, Pedrinho, Neverton (Eguinaldo, 85), Alisson (Ferreira, 80), Elias (Traore, 80).
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Goals: Moutinho (67, own goal) — Ishak (13, 45+7, from penalty).
Arda Turan's team, which was missing two main central defenders (Matvienko was injured, Bondar was suspended), was hit by a cold shower already in the 13th minute, when the Polish champion's first serious attack on the Miners' back ended with a well-aimed shot by Swedish forward Ishak – 0:1.
Shakhtar players apparently didn't hear the bell and continued to monotonously search for ways to the Poles' goal. Unsuccessfully – not a single shot on target in the entire first half.
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But the wards of Dane Nils Frederiksen used another chance in attack. Already in the added minutes of the first 45 minutes, Elias played with his hand when taking a corner kick, and Ishak scored a double from the spot – 0:2.
At the beginning of the second half, Shakhtar miraculously did not concede a third goal. But even after that, the young Brazilians and their teammates did not recover. It is good that the Poles helped. In the 67th minute, after a flank pass by Neverton, the ball touched four (!) Lech players in a row and flew into the net from Moutinho's head – 1:2. And so, without a single shot on the goal of the team from Poznan, the Miners again took the lead on the aggregate of two meetings and eventually crawled through to the quarterfinals. Eurocup luck – that's what it is…
The Donetsk team's opponent in the quarterfinals of the tournament will be AZ from the Netherlands, who after a home victory (2:1) defeated the Czech Sparta and away (4:0). On April 9, Shakhtar will host the team from Alkmaar at home, and on the 16th they will play away.
Other second leg matches of the Conference League Round of 16 brought the following results:
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Rayo Vallecano (Spain) – Samsunspor (Turkey) – 0:1 (first match – 3:1);
Strasbourg (France) — Rijeka (Croatia) — 1:1 (2:1);
AEK (Cyprus) — Crystal Palace (England) — 1:2 in extra time (0:0);
Rakuw (Poland) — Fiorentina (Italy) — 1:2 (1:2);
AEK (Greece) — Celje (Slovenia) — 0:2 (4:0);
Mainz (Germany) — Sigma (Czech Republic) — 2:0 (0:0).
In addition to the pair, Shakhtar (Ukraine) – AZ (Netherlands), the following teams will also play in the quarterfinals of the Conference League: Crystal Palace (England) – Fiorentina (Italy), Rayo Vallecano (Spain) – AEK Athens (Greece), Mainz (Germany) – Strasbourg (France).
Previously, “FACTS” reported that Shakhtar learned about potential opponents in the Conference League playoffs.
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