(Image above: Archive)
Four days before the Champions League clash with FC Bayern, opponents Dynamo Kyiv picked up a confidence booster as the defending champions kicked off Matchday 15 of the Ukrainian Premier League with a 6-1 victory at Chornomorets Odessa. The thumping win on Friday leaves the capital club three points clear of Shakhtar Donetzk in first place, although Shakhtar can reclaim top spot on Saturday afternoon when they host Rukh Vynnyky.
Dynamo didn’t manage any goals in the first meeting in Munich, but they demonstrated their goalscoring prowess in their dress rehearsal for the return match.
Must-win for Dynamo
Vitaliy Buyalskyi (27’, 58’ pen) and Vitinho (30’, 37’) both netted braces in Odessa, with Denys Garmash (48’) and Vladyslav Kulach (82’) also on the scoresheet. Mircea Lucescu’s side will need that accuracy in front of goal again on Tuesday to keep alive their slim hopes of progressing to the round of 16. Dynamo require a win against Bayern as well as help from Benfica for second place in the group to remain achievable. For FCB, just a draw in Kyiv will be enough to confirm them as group winners with a game to spare, regardless of other results.
Kyiv line-up against Odessa: Bushchan - Karavaev, Kedziora, Syrota, Mykolenko - Tsygankov, Shepelev, Andriyevskyi, Vitinho - Buyalskyi - Shkurin
Bayern’s match at Augsburg on Friday didn’t go as well, despite clear dominance – here’s the post-match reaction:
Topics of this article