Ukraine blow Group C wide open with an important 2-1 win over North Macedonia

Ukraine have boosted their hopes of passing the group stages of the European Championships with a crucial 2-1 victory, thanks to goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk.

Both Yarmolenko and Yaremchuk were no strangers to the scoresheet, as they were also both on target just four days previously, in their side’s 3-2 defeat to the Netherlands.

As those stats would suggest, they are both pivotal figures in the Ukrainian setup, and if Andriy Shevchenko’s side is to enjoy any more success in this tournament, it is likely to revolve around them.

Perhaps a more underrated and hugely impressive performer so far for Ukraine has been midfielder Ruslan Malinovskiy.

It is often said that you cannot judge a player solely off their goals and assists statistics, and this certainly rings true for Atalanta’s number 18 so far in the tournament.

To delve a little deeper than the bog-standard goals and assists, Malinovskiy created two big chances for his side against North Macedonia, whilst also executing five key passes and completing 30 of his 35 passes accurately in the match. Despite missing the penalty which could have sealed the game in the 84th minute, it’s certainly safe to say that his performance was one that caught the eye.

Ukraine have scored two goals in each of their two fixtures so far in the Euro 2020, and in truth, it’s hard to see how that would have been possible without the inclusion of Malinovskiy. His forward-thinking play and ability to get the ball in behind the backline has been pivotal in creating chances for Shevchenko’s team and, at times, he has been let down by his teammate’s poor finishing.

Not only is his dynamic style in open-play beneficial for his side, but his ability to deliver dangerous balls from set plays is also a huge asset to his game.

It was evident against the Netherlands that set-pieces would be important for Ukraine when Malinovskiy wonderfully whipped a free-kick onto the head for Yaremchuk to level the game up, and his dangerous deliveries also hurt North Macedonia.

A clever, driven corner kick by Malinovskiy was flicked on at the near post by Oleksandr Karavayev to allow Yarmolenko to tap in at the back post to make it 1-0, and whilst neither the credit for the goal or the assist will be given to their number eight, he was certainly crucial in it happening.

Igor Angelovski’s side were again flustered by Malinovskiy’s impressive dead-ball deliveries when, in the 84th minute, a goal-bound strike hit a North Macedonian arm to give Ukraine the perfect opportunity to put the game to bed. The 28-year-old’s performance deserved a goal, but he could not supply the finish from the penalty spot.

So it was a little heart-in-mouth moment, but Ukraine were fully deserving of their three points, and that will really boost their chances of advancing to the knockout stages.

As for North Macedonia, they battled hard and showed plenty of character. They knocked the ball around well at times but ultimately made big mistakes that led to the goals that they conceded.

Angelovski’s side have caused a scare to both Ukraine and Austria so far this tournament and they will be looking to take that one step further against the Netherlands on Monday, but any real chance of reaching the next stage of the competition evaporated with their 2-1 defeat today.

It’s Austria up next for Ukraine, and whilst they will be looking for a win no matter what, the neutrals will just be hopeful that Shevchenko’s side can provide yet another entertaining performance, as the first two have not been short of goals.

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