Brest logically lost during the seventh day of the Champions League (2-0) against a serious Shakhtar Donetsk team. Find out what the editorial staff liked and disliked.
TOPS
The Bondar control tower
Major performance from captain and central defender Valeriy Bondar. In all the good times, the 25-year-old Ukrainian kept watch behind his partners’ backs to cut off Brest’s offensives. Solid and serene on the restart, impeccable in the air, he, on several occasions, stopped hot actions (16th and 64th) and put Mama Baldé through hell, holding on closely throughout the match. He has a lot to do with the defensive solidity of the Ukrainians.
Football lesson
Without an official match for almost a month, Shakhtar delivered a perfect score against the valiant Bretons. Proof of their experience on the European scene, Marino Pusic’s men showed the right intensity in important moments to bring down the Breton team. By relying on a compact block, they were able to count on the explosiveness of their Brazilian wingers to thwart the Breton defenders. Break made at the break, they then managed the second act perfectly, maintaining their good result without putting themselves in danger.
FLOPS
-Bizot-Chardonnet, mistakes that are costly
Their respective qualities have been praised so far. But against Shakthar, the two Stade Brestois executives were guilty. Brendan Chardonnet first. The Breton captain poorly negotiated his control of a ball thrown by Gomes. Error in catching the ball benefiting Kevin Macedo who stole the ball and finished the action alone. He could have been guilty in spite of himself at the end of the match by lobbing his goalkeeper and offering the third goal to his opponents. Bizot, despite a serious encounter, ruined his training. Azarovi alone in depth forced the Dutch goalkeeper to make a mistake on a poorly controlled exit. Indisputable penalty and break for the Ukrainians.
Muzzled scorers
Mama Baldé and Ludovic Ajorque lined up in a double point did nothing. Closely squeezed by a close defense, they respectively had difficulty shining in their registers. Ajorque with his back to the game was unable to serve as a pivot and deliver good balls and Mama Baldé, full of good will, suffered the law of Bondar, always vigilant on each of his changes of pace. Sad end for the former Lyon player who left with an injury at the end of the match (71st). Sima, Brest’s top scorer in the competition (3 goals) who entered the game did not do any better and suffered the same failure as his partners.
Pereira Lage and Lala mystified
Not at his position and lined up at left back due to injuries to Haïdara and Locko, Pereira Lage did his best but struggled throughout the match. Often poorly placed and struggling to restart, he spent the match chasing Pedrinho’s breakthroughs. He could have definitively condemned his team at the end of the match, he lost a ball in a dangerous area against Zubkov leading to the third goal (finally refused by Donetsk).
He was however in his register on the right but had great difficulty distinguishing himself. Often caught by the dribbles of Macedo and Eguinaldo in the first half, during the second half, he went through long slumps missing everything. From passes to interventions and almost cost his team dearly when taken on the counterattack.
