Shakthar Donetsk outclassed FC Basel in their quarter final of the Europa League in the Veltins Arena. The first 45 minutes the Ukrainians were very dominant in possession and quickly scored two goals. In the second half of the game Shakthar played with a slightly lower intensity, but never really got in trouble. After goals from Alan Patrick and Dodô they were 4-0 up, before van Wolfswinkel scored a late goal for FC Basel.
Shakthar Donetsk set up in a 4-3-3 formation and played very possession based. In possession central midfielder Stepanenko would often drop back as a third centre back. There was a lot of movement in Shaktar’s midfield with Alan Patrick, Marlos and Taison all dropping back at times, creating space for full backs Dodô and Matviyenko and for Marcos Antônio.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Marcos Antônio
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 13/06/2000
- Current club: Shakthar Donetsk
- Career: Club Athletico Paranaense (Y), Estoril, Shakthar Donetsk
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
The 20-year old Marcos Antônio played a superb game for Shakthar Donetsk before getting subbed off after 85 minutes. The Brazilian played as the right sided central midfielder and played absolutely flawless only losing the ball once the whole game.
Marcos Antônio played as the right central midfielder next to Stepanenko, but was roaming all around the pitch. Antônio was very involved in the build-up play, but was also found in the final third multiple times. With Stepanenko sitting as a third centre back in possession and Marlos, Alan Patrick and Taison dropping back at multiple occasion Antônio had a lot of space to roam around between the lines of Basel. The example below showcases one of the smart runs from Marcos Antônio after he played the ball back.
In the game against FC Basel Marcos Antônio completed all of his 52 passes, which says a lot about how he played. He didn’t take too many risks and always found a teammate. He had great awareness of the opponents around him and always knew what to do before taking his first touch, making it very hard to put him under pressure. Marcos Antônio never really tried to dribble past his opponents, but always had good control over the ball keeping it very close to him.
In the 40th minute the 20-year old midfielder took his only shot of the match. From the edge of the box he accurately placed the ball on the crossbar of Basel’s goal.
Defensively Marcos Antônio wasn’t very good, but as the playmaker with Stepanenko next to him that wasn’t too big of an issue. He is quite short standing only at 5’5” and got outmuscled very easy a couple of times. He covered quite a bit of ground, pressing high when he had the opportunity.
Rating: A1
Based on this game Marcos Antônio definitely deserves an A1 rating. He fits perfectly in Shakthar’s style of play and is great on the ball.
Dodô
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 17/11/1998
- Current club: Shakthar Donetsk
- Career: Coritiba, Shakthar Donetsk, Vitória Guimarães (L)
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Right-back Dodô just kept on going this game and is probably still running down the right side of the pitch. The Brazilian played a great game against Basel and got rewarded with a goal. Dodô played as the right back, but moved up the pitch quite far when Shakthar was in possession acting more like a wing-back. Right winger Marlos played quite narrow and dropped back multiple times giving Dodô a lot of space to make overlapping runs on the right.
Despite his physique, standing at only 5’5” and not looking like the strongest defender, he still did very well defensively. He had some issues with the very strong Pululu, but managed to win almost all of his defensive duels. He defended very patiently in his 1v1 duels, placing his tackles at the exact right time. Dodô is a very fast defender, especially on the first few meters he looked very explosive.
With the ball at his feet Dodô mostly just played short passes at a high tempo, like the rest of his team. He played a couple of nice diagonal cross passes, showing some decent passing range. Dodô made a lot of overlapping runs, as I said, but didn’t feature too much in the final third. He didn’t go for crosses often, but still continued playing it short.
In the 88th minute Dodô scored the 4-0 against Basel. The right back made another great run forward and got the ball on the right side of the box from Tete. From the right he put the ball in the bottom left corner beating Nikolic.
Rating: A2
Mykola Matviyenko
Player profile:
- Nationality: Ukrainian
- Age: 24
- Date of birth: 02/05/1996
- Current club: Shakthar Donetsk
- Career: Shakthar Donetsk, Karpaty Lviv (L), Vorskla Poltava (L)
- Position: Centre Back
- Secondary position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Mykola Matviyenko played on the opposite side of Dodô as the left back for Shakthar Donetsk against FC Basel. The Ukrainian made a lot of smart runs around left winger Taison.
Matviyenko has great technical abilities for a defender. He has a good first touch and good dribbling. The 24-year old did well under pressure and made just a couple of mistakes with his passing. Matviyenko was very active on the half of his opponents. He showed good vision and crossing creating a couple of chances for his team.
Defensively Matviyenko also did a great job. He reads the game very well allowing him to intercept a lot of passes. He did well in his 1v1’s winning 75% of his defensive duels on the ground and in the air.
Rating: A2
Valeriy Bondar
Player profile:
- Nationality: Ukrainian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 27/02/1999
- Current club: Shakthar Donetsk
- Career: Shakthar Donetsk
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
It wasn’t a very busy game for Valeriy Bondar. Bondar played as the left centre back, partnering up with Krivtsov and can be happy with his performance against Basel.
Bondar didn’t really get tested defensively, so it’s quite hard to rate him on that aspect. He often goes to the ground for a sliding tackles, in situations where it’s really not necessary. The 21-year old seems like a strong player and is pretty tall.
On the ball Bondar didn’t really do a lot of fancy thing, which isn’t a bad thing. His short passing is good and he played a couple of decent long balls with his left and his right foot. Bondar might lack a bit technically, as he looked quite clumsy whilst dribbling, which he didn’t really try too often.
Rating: B1
Valeriy Bondar did well against Basel, but didn’t really get tested. I have some doubts about his technical qualities.