Ukraine looked to be on course for a second consecutive loss at the 2024 European Championships but an impressive second half resurgence saw them come from behind to beat Slovakia 2-1 at the Merkur-Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf thanks to goals from Mykola Shaparenko and Roman Yaremchuk, Soccernet.football reports.
Here are five interesting takeaways as Ukraine returns to winning ways.
1. A much needed victory for Ukraine
Ukraine really needed to produce a reaction in Düsseldorf after their surprising capitulation against Romania in their opening game where they suffered a 3-0 defeat and Sergiy Rebrov will surely be satisfied with his team’s response against a Slovakia side who came into the game off the back of an impressive 1-0 victory over Group E favourites Belgium.
2. Another goal for Ivan Schranz at the Euros
The 30-year-old forward put Slovakia in front 17 minutes into the game after getting on the end of Lukas Haraslin’s cross to the back post and heading the ball into the back of the net. It was Schranz’s second goal of the tournament as the Slavia Prague attacker was also on target in Slovakia’s first game of the tournament, scoring the only goal of the match to seal their famous win over Belgium.
3. Ukraine’s second half resurgence
Sergiy Rebrov’s side looked out of sorts in the first half and when they conceded the first goal, it seemed like they were well on their way out of the tournament. However, a much improved second half display saw Ukraine complete an impressive turnaround to win the game. Shaparenko restored parity for Ukraine in the 54th minute after a quick break before 67th minute substitute Yaremchuk grabbed the winner ten minutes from time.
4. Zinchenko makes up for first half error
The Ukraine skipper appeared to be a culprit in Ukraine’s early concession but he did enough to redeem himself before full time. A cross into the box seemed to catch Zinchenko completely off guard, leaving the Arsenal defender unprepared for Schranz’s leap, which resulted in a header that put Slovakia ahead. However, Zinchenko made up for his mistake nine minutes into the second half with a superb cross to Shaparenko, who finished it brilliantly to draw the match level. Zinchenko excelled for the rest of the game, controlling possession and contributing at both ends of the field.
5. Ukraine’s victory throws Group E wide open
With their win over Slovakia, Ukraine are now level on points with both Romania and Slovakia as all three have now won one game each. As it stands, Group E favourites Belgium are rock bottom of the standings heading into their second game of the tournament against Romania on Saturday. There’s still so much to play for in this group.