Tops/Flops Shakhtar Donetsk – Rennes: a great Trubin, panic in the Rennes defense

TOPS

Anatoliy Trubin’s insurance

The Shakhtar Donetsk goalkeeper had work to do this evening despite the lack of realism and the ineffective performance of Rennes in attack. Anatoliy Trubin finished the encounter with a total of five saves. Imperturbable on his line, reassuring in the air and decisive on the ground, the young 21-year-old goalkeeper allowed the Minors to maintain their lead in the score. This is the definition of a great goalkeeper: being able to take out important parries even if you are not worried for long minutes. As soon as Rennes moved forward, Trubin watched over his cages to avoid an equalizer.

Jérémy Doku alone in the world for Rennes

He was clearly the only regular Rennes player tonight. Jérémy Doku tried everything to bring what was missing in the game of the Bretons. In the first period, he tried to bring some offensive animation to his team’s collective. He ran a lot, came back to defend and tried to put energy into every situation, while his teammates were content with incomplete and inefficient high pressing. He is the author of the magnificent center brushed on the goal of Toko Ekambi (59th). Author of 87% of successful passes, Doku had very few false notes in his game, winning 12 of his 15 duels.

FLOPS

Rennes’ defensive errors

Shakhtar Donetsk’s two goals came from a defensive error. On the opening of the Kryskiv score (11th), Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko was completely forgotten by Djed Spence. Served on a long cross, the side had plenty of time to arm a shot in the area, pushed back by Mandanda then taken over by Kryskiv. And on the second goal of Donetsk, Lesley Ugochukwu committed the irreparable by offering a penalty to the Ukrainians (45th). While he wanted to clear the danger, the young Franco-Nigerian midfielder finally hit Konoplya’s ankle. In general, the wingers were often late and the centrals lacked organization. We no longer count the many breakthroughs and other excesses of Oleksandr Zubkov, Lassana Traoré or Mykhaylychenko. Too many spaces were left by the Rennes defense.

The non-awakening of the Rouge et Noir

Despite the reduction in Toko Ekambi’s score, Stade Rennais never managed to really take the psychological advantage over Shakhtar Donetsk. Apart from short streaks of five or ten minutes, the Rouge et Noir never seemed much better than the Ukrainians. The latter have each time managed to obtain new opportunities to stop the attempt to return the Bretons. In a match in European competition, Rennes should have woken up and shown a desire to bounce back. Even the return from the locker room was rather negative with two quick chances from Zubkov (47th, 49th).