The Kings of Ukraine

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Shakhtar Donetsk are delighted to announce the signing of three players for a combined fee of £41million. Marco Reus, Kyrylo Petrov and Taras Mykhalyk have all joined the club.

German winger Marco Reus arrived first in a deal worth £29.5million from German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund. The winger, who was chased by top clubs all over Europe, but chose Donetsk as his destination.

"The manager was really ambitious and wanted me to sign as he said I am a key part in the future of the club. There were plenty of other clubs interested in me, but I chose Shakhtar because of this, and I feel with the manager we have, we can win the Champions League, and that is my aim."

The other two signings, Petrov and Maykhalyk, are Ukrainian centre backs that arrived from Arsenal Kyiv and Lokomotiv Moscow respectively for a combined fee of £11million.

"We really needed two top quality centre defenders" manager Samparistol said. "Now we have them. Taras will do will for us as he is experienced, playing for top clubs. Petrov is one for the future of the club, and will develop into a star."

Facundo Ferreyra is ruled out for 4 weeks with a groin strain. The forward, who has scored two goals in three games for the club, has only just recovered from a previous injury.

"It is a real shame. He is a big part of our plans and to miss him for any length of time is bad and unwanted." said manager Sergy Samparistol, "Hopefully he can recover quicker than expected and come back in even better form."

Meanwhile, it is expected the Juventus loanee Fabio Quagliarella will fill his role Ferreyra's absence.

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September 2013 Review

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We controlled the game, dominating from start to finish, and unlucky to win, and we should have if we didn't concede from some dreadful defending. We went 1-0 up when Diego Costa reaches a Bernard cross from two yards out in the first half, and went into half time with high spirits. But we defended poorly when a Danilo Silva cross reaches Mbokani, who finishes. I moaned at the defenders at full time, and luckily it seemed to motivate them, which shows they believe in me and my team is behind me.

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I was very proud of my team after this. Even though my assistant said we should be winning this game with ease, I knew that we wouldn't and that we would need a good performance. We dominated the opening minutes and had a few chances on goal. But, as expected, Man City got hold of the game and went ahead with Negredo scoring a header from close range. This seemed to kick-start my team again, and before long we were level when Rakitskyi scores after Reus delivers a freekick from the right of the penalty box. At Half-Time, I was pleased, but straight after, we conceded a goal that was exactly the same as the first, the full back beaten by Nasri, who plays a cross across the box and Negredo gets his second. We were dominated after that, but somehow, my decision to risk all or nothing seemed to work. In the 93rd minute, the last minute, Diego Costa scores with a great finish to draw it level and give us a vital point. I used a slightly different tactic to try and soak the pressure of Manchester City's attack, and it worked, as Fabregas and Fernando completely stopped Aguero and Yaya Toure from playing.

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This was a tale of two halves. In the first half, we did not touch the ball and only have had a few poor shots on goal. Metalurg D scored when Nelson’s head met a freekick. We went in with the score at 1-1 at half time, as Bernard scored to draw level, and hell let loose then. We managed to turn it around, with goals for van der Vaart and Rakitskyi to give us the needed three points.

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We won this easily, as expected. We won it within 30 minutes, with Fabio Quagliarella scoring a hattrick. Fabio Quagliarella gets his first goal for the club with a cool low finish, then Quagliarella gets his second with a low long range effort that lands in the bottom corner and his third is from the penalty spot after Rizvan Ablitarov fouls him in the box. It was a shame we could not score more in the second half, but a good win non-the-less.

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For this match, Ii decided to rest key and tired players as in midweek we have a massive game against Bayern Munich, so the last thing I wanted is Pep's Tiki-Taka to destroy us.
We had a rubbish first half. No chances, we were dominated, and when we went in at half time, I decided to make some changes. I made three substitutions, I brought on Costa, Fabregas and Bernard, and they changed the game single-handedly. Fabregas gave us the lead after Matoukou fouled Wellington Nem in the box. Diego Costa scores from just inside the box to make the lead 2-0 and he scores again to give us a 3-0 win after a mistake from the Volyn centre back. A very good second half from Shakhtar to turn it around

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Manager's Opinion

A very good month with some very pleasing results, especially the Man City one. We played well to get the point, and came back from behind, and this show determination, a want to play for the club, which you need to stay in my team. I also learnt as a manager, any tactical switch or substitution can change a game massively. This month has given us a great platform to go on and win the title!

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The Brazilian has been a contender since the start, but this month, he has added something else to his game. Desire, a desire to cross, to score, to play, and that is key. He made most of our goals this season, tied top with 6 assists. He is key to our title hopes and future, so lets hope he doesn't stop this form.

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League Table & Next Fixtures

We sit second, two points off the top. If we had won the Dynamo game, we would have gone top, but it doesn't matter, as Kyiv will drop points eventually. Two points off the top means that we are probably still favourites for the title, considering we are unbeaten so far, which is great.



Apart from the Munich game, this is an easy month, and we should be picking up all three points from each game easily. The Munich game will be hard, but hopefully, if we show determination and want and desire, the key to any winning football team in my opinion, we will get a good result. We should not loose our two point gap off the top, and hopefully, Dynamo will drop points, and we will take advantage.

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Live Coverage of the UEFA Champions League - Bayern Munich vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Before kick-off:
Welcome to our coverage of tonight's feature game, where European Champions Bayern Munich take on Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in Munich! Stay tuned for more updates!

Before kick-off
Team news is in, Bayern Munich are playing a 4-5-1 formation, with no Number 10. Javi Martinez plays in his holding midfield role and Mandzukic starts upfront.

Shakhtar Donetsk are playing a 4-1-1-3-1 formation, like they did against Manchester City. Rafael van der Vaart starts only his second game for Shakhtar, and Tomas Hubschman starts in the holding role. Diego Costa starts upfront. The full teams are below.


1 min
And we are off! Shakhtar get the game under way.

2 min
A Thiago freekick finds Ribery, who shoots from long range, and it is gathered up by Pyatov

45 mins
The teams go in at half time with no major chances, but with Bayern dominated possession as we expected.

54 mins
GOAL! Robben starts of a brilliant Munich move, which Thiago finishes in style. 1-0 Munich

55 mins
Shakhtar almost hit back immediately, with Reus just firing wide

72 mins
Ribery hits one, it's wide and high

74 mins
GOAL! Robben scores with a placed shot from a tight angle after Shakhtar cannot clear their lines. 2-0 Bayern.

79 mins
Thomas Muller fires high

82 mins
Marco Reus just misses the target from a tight angle, with the shot going high

89 mins
Reus' shot is saved by Neuer, corner Shakhtar. The corner comes to nothing

91 mins
Pyatov makes a couple of good saves to deny Munich a third

93 mins
FULL TIME Bayern won with ease, and Shakhtar couldn't match them. Post-match interviews coming up.

Post Match
We have managed to grab hold of Pep Guardiola, so Pep, how was the win?
"I thought they would be tougher in all honesty.[Shakhtar] really did not play well. We played brilliantly and I am very happy."

We have also managed to be able to briefly speak to Sergy Samparistol.
"Look, I am not in the mood for talking, because we played awfully. We lacked desire and hunger, two key attributes to our club. I am disappointed in my team, and there is no way that we will qualify for the next round now."

Thank you for joining us, see you next time on feature coverage.