Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Millan both share a commonality as they enter the new football campaign with a brand-new manager at the helm, Shakhtar hiring former Sassuolo manager Roberto Di Zerbi and Inter employing ex Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi. Two Italian managers going head-to-head in a Champions League clash playing a style of football that is not synonymous in Italy. Inter currently sit top of Serie A while scoring the most goals within the division while Di Zerbi’s Shakhtar sits second within the Ukrainian Premier League and scoring 23 goals in 9 matches. Both teams have a clear way of playing which utilises clever positional play in and out of possession and strategic transitions that allow them to excel which makes this game an interesting match-up between team and manager.
This tactical analysis will showcase some of the intricacies of Di Zerbi’s Shakhtar with the ball and how they tried to create opportunities while limiting Inter’s attacking thrust that has helped them reach the top of the Italian table. The article will also explore how Pedrinho faired playing as a striker for the Ukrainian outfit and the positives and the negatives of occupying the striker position. Lastly, we will look at how Inter tried to disrupt Shakhtar and remained defensively strong without controlling possession. This draw between the two teams serves Sheriff Tiraspol and to a lesser degree, Real Madrid but it cannot be considered as a positive result for any of the two teams of Group D.
Line-ups
Inter visited Ukraine using their standard 3-1-4-2 formation with club captain Samir Handanović in goal, Milan Škriniar, Stephen De Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni forming a back-three. Federico Dimarco and Denzel Dumfries were stationed at wing-back while Nico Barella, Marcelo Brozović and Matías Vecino played in centre midfield. Lautaro Martínez and former Manchester City’s Edin Džeko were the striker-partnership of choice for this game.
Shakhtar Donetsk made use of a 4-2-3-1 formation with veteran goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov, Ismaily, Marlon, Mykola Matviyenko and Dodo in defence. Taras Stepanenko, Maycon, Alan Patrick, Manor Solomon and Pedrinho played in midfield with Lassina Traore leading the line as a lone striker.
Shakhtar’s build-up variations
As mentioned above, Shakhtar lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation but when in possession during the first phase of play some things changed. During these moments, Shakhtar progressed to play with four at the back at times with fullbacks Ismaily and Dodo positioned narrowly. Another common thread was their use of a back-three with Taras Stepanenko dropping between the central defenders and Maycon playing as a lone defensive midfielder. The forming of a back three was useful in many ways as it allowed both fullbacks to push up and affect the game in attacking areas while also creating numerical superiority during certain sequences.
