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It was a fairy tale start to Ukraine’s Euro campaign as they notched up a win in their first ever appearance in this competition against Sweden. Oleg Blokhin’s side showed great character after having gone down to a goal and it was their golden boy Shevchenko who came to their rescue with a spectacular headed brace. The scenes that unfolded at the Olympic stadium were terrific as the manner in which the Ukrainian players and fans celebrated would give you the impression that they have won the tournament already.
The first half was anything but exciting as the game had to be halted by the referee far too frequently due to fouls committed by either side. But the second half was completely different as both sides started on a more positive note and looked to score. The result in the other Group D fixture between France and England was a draw which meant much unfancied Ukraine are sitting pretty on the top of the group with three points.
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Ukraine
Andriy Piatov- (7)
Wasn’t at fault for the goal he conceded and looked pretty assured between the posts for Ukraine. Pulled off a couple of decent saves as he remained largely untested since most of the Swedish attempts lacked direction and missed the target.
Taras Mikhalik-(6)
The center half did well to try and stick close to Ibrahimovic, but struggled against the physical strength of the big Swede. The defender, however, was good at the playing the ball to the midfield as he always looked comfortable passing it.
Yevhen Khacheridi (6.5)
Marked Rosenberg pretty well as the Swedish no.22 wasn’t allowed to do much during his stay on the pitch.
Oleg Gusev (7.5)
The no.9 was an enigma down the right flank, linking up effectively with Yarmolenko and defended well on most occasions. He had a role to play in Ukraine’s equalizer as he made a darting run into the Swedish half before passing it onto Yarmolenko, who then floated one in for Shevchenko to nod past Isaksson.
Yevhen Selin (6.5)
The left back put his body on the line as he defended selflessly. He came off worse in an aerial challenge and was down on the ground which Sweden took advantage of and opened their scoring.
Serhiy Nazarenko (7)
The veteran was very calm and composed on the ball and his distribution on most occasions was immaculate. Helped Ukraine retain possession and also did significantly well to help out the defence by putting in a couple of vital challenges. Faded away in the final quarter of the game.
Anatoliy Tymoschuk (7.5)
The big Bayern midfielder was a very assuring presence for the Ukrainians at the middle of the park as he kept the game ticking with his passing. Linked up pretty well with Nazarenko in the center and helped in the defence when they did not have the ball.
Evgeni Konoplianka (8)
The young winger impressed throughout the game as he was never afraid to take on the opposing defenders. Had a few attempts on goal but most of them were wayward, but his movement down the left was pretty neat.
Andriy Yarmolenko(7.5)
This talented winger linked up brilliantly with Gusev and was a handful for the Swedish defence. Quick feet and strong, he worked tirelessly down the right hand side and also provided a telling cross for the first goal.
Andriy Voronin (8)
The former Liverpool man created enough problems in the Swedish defense with his movement as his late runs into the box were hard to pick up. Worked well in tandem with Shevchenko and his vision in the final third of the pitch was there to see.
A spectacular headed brace from the champion striker as he worked tirelessly up front till the time he was on the pitch.
Subs:
Artem Milevskiy (81’)
Ruslan Rotan(85’)
Marko Devic(92’)
Sweden
Andreas Isaksson (6.5)
In both the goals that he conceded, there was little that the PSV goalkeeper could do. But he looked shaky at times, trying to clear the ball from defence.
Mikael Lustig (4)
Clearly Sweden’s worst player on the pitch as he struggled for the entire match against Konoplianka. Was at fault for Ukraine’s second as he went to sleep while guarding the near post during a corner.
Olof Mellberg (6)
Clearly struggled to cope with the movement of Voronin and Shevchenko and often ended up conceding needless fouls inside his own half. Did well to join the attack in the final minutes of the game and came close to stealing a equalizer when his looped shot landed on the roof of the goal.
Andreas Granqvist(6.5)
Strong, no nonsense defending from the big center half as he worked tirelessly to keep a close eye on Shevchenko. Put his body in the firing line as he made a terrific block in the first half to deny Yarmolenko a chance on goal.
Martin Olsson (5.5)
Again struggled against Yarmolenko’s trickery and Gusev joining in the attack only compounded the defender’s problems. Barely ventured forward except for in the final minutes.
Kim Kallstrom (6.5)
Had a relatively poor day as he struggled to get his passing right throughout the game. His pass into Ibrahimovic’s feet, which resulted in the goal, was perhaps his greatest contribution yesterday.
Rasmus Elm (7)
His set piece deliveries were clearly not upto the mark but the no. 6 worked his socks off in the midfield as Sweden maintained possession for lengthy periods in the final stages of the game.
Seb Larsson (6)
A disappointing game for the Sunderland winger as he barely forayed into the opposition half. His set piece delivery was no good either and he spent most of the most of the time doubling up against Konoplianka in defense.
Ola Toivonen (6)
Played out wide as opposed to the support striker that he normally plays for PSV, he did well to win the headers and did well to hold onto the ball inside the Ukraine area which resulted in the goal.
Markus Rosenberg(5.5)
Struggled against Khacheridi’s superior strength as he barely managed to win anything in the air. Had a couple of attempts on goal but they were easily saved by Piatov.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (8.5)
Everything that Sweden created went through this man. Was unlucky in the first half to have struck the post from a neatly placed header and set up most of his team mates with chances to secure a draw for the team. Was too strong for the Ukraine defenders as he outmuscled them almost every time.
Subs:
Christian Wilhelmsson- 66’ (5.5)
Provided the much needed pace and trickery to the otherwise one dimensional Swedish attack. The team came to life after he was introduced by coach Hamren.
Andres Svensson- 68’ (5)
Failed to have an impact on the game although he did well to distribute the ball from the midfield, but was largely untested as the Ukrainians were sitting deep defending their lead and not closing down their opponents as earlier.
Johan Elmander-71’ (4.5)
Tried to exert his physical presence on the game but mostly gave away free kicks to the opposing team. Had a great chance to draw it level when Ibrahimovic set him up with a clever lob but his shot went over the goal.
