Brave GK ambassador, Dmitry Reznik, played his debut match in the Champions League, the most prestigious club championship in the world. It was the first-round match of Group H, where the miners faced Porto. Despite a loss (1:3), the Ukrainian club played a very dynamic game, showcasing their strengths. However, flaws were evident, which the opponents successfully capitalized on.
At the end of the match, the best player of Shakhtar was precisely goalkeeper Dmitry Reznik. Experts from authoritative statistical portals WhoScored and SofaScore gave him the highest ratings: on the former, only 2 players — Dmitry Reznik and Alexander Zubkov — scored a high of 7.4, while on the latter, only Reznik achieved a score as high as 8.0.
These expert ratings are fully justified: it was Dmitry Reznik who prevented the Porto players from scoring more. Throughout the two halves, the 24-year-old goalkeeper made 6 saves, played out twice successfully, and intercepted 1 cross. Additionally, according to statistics, Dmitry made almost 30 accurate passes (90% of the total), won 1 aerial duel, and recovered the ball once. The Goals Prevented metric for Reznik stood at 0.76.
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From the onset, Porto players took the initiative on the field. By the 8th minute, after Alan Varela returned the ball to play, Andre Franco shot straight at the goalkeeper, and Galeno quickly netted the ball (0-1). The Ukrainian team capitalized on the single genuine threat they had in the first half, leveling the score in a swift counter-attack finished off by Kelsi (1-1).
The blue-and-white's response was swift, and it took Galeno just 2 minutes to score again (2-1). A good shot by Ivan Jaime ensured a decent save from the corner in the next attack, and the thousands of Portuguese fans at the Volksparkstadion had to wait half an hour to celebrate another goal, thanks to Galeno's sprint and a shot from the Iranian forward Taremi (1-3).
The second half of the game was no less lively. Notably, there was a dangerous shot by Yegor Nazarina, which Costa managed to save. Reznik replied with saves against shots from Eushtakio and then Franco from almost the same position – the right edge of the penalty area. The Donetsk team had chances to score new goals: for instance, when Sikan made a pass to the right side of the penalty area to Zubkov, but Alexander's shot near the post was also under the control of the "portistas" goalkeeper. Near the end of the match, another opportunity had Zubkov - he again shot near, but Costa was up to the task. Attempts to score were made by Sudakov and Eginaldo, but both were unsuccessful. The result — 1:3, "Shakhtar" conceded to "Porto."
Brave GK ambassador Dmitry Reznik commented on the match: "Psychologically, the club was ready, but Porto identified our weaknesses and exploited them. I think we need to improve, particularly our defensive movement. Overall, though, I'd call the game even. I don't think we were significantly outplayed by Porto; they just effectively used the moments they got.”
Dmitry Reznik's club will play its next Champions League match on October 4th away against Antwerp. Before that, Patrick van Leuven's charges will have a series of matches in the UPL, with the closest being against Rukh in Lviv on September 23rd.
Recall that the 24-year-old Ukrainian started his professional career at Poltava's Vorskla. He defended the club's goal from 2016 to 2023. In February of this year, Dmitry became a Shakhtar player, and since then, he has played about 10 matches.
