Shakhtar advances to the playoff of the Conference League: how other Ukrainian clubs performed

According to glavcom.ua: The matches of the fifth of six matchdays of the preliminary stage of the Conference League have concluded. This was reported by 'Glavcom'.

If in the last round there were 75% positive news from Ukrainian teams or clubs with Ukrainian players, this time it was only 25%: thanks to 'Shakhtar', which defeated Maltese 'Hamrun' (2:0), fans received the only victory against the backdrop of defeats of 'Dynamo' by 'Fiorentina' (1:2), 'Universitatea' with Oleksandr Romanchuk and Pavlo Isenko by 'Slavia' (1:2) and Slovana of Danilo Ignatenko by 'Shkendija' (0:2).

Despite this, on Thursday a number of matches had drama and intrigue until the end. In particular, Swedish 'Häcken' snatched two points from Cypriot 'AEK Larnaca' in the fourth minute of stoppage time, which until then had not conceded at all. This significantly affected the team, which lost seven places due to the draw and dropped to tenth place. Another surprise of the round was the club 'Noah' from Armenia, which achieved an important victory over 'Legia' (2:1) for two reasons. First, it continues the fight for the playoffs and has good chances to establish itself there; second, it knocked 'Legia' out of the race, which with just three points from the victory over Shakhtar will definitely not proceed to the next stage.

Regarding other tournament prospects, the first club to secure advancement to the Round of 16 directly was French 'Strasbourg', which after a minimal victory over Aberdeen is definitely entering the top eight of the first stage. Close to this is also the Ukrainian 'Shakhtar', which will need to earn a draw against 'Rijeka'. However, this task will not be easy, as the Croats also have theoretical chances for the top 8 if they win and competitors fail. The most unexpected in the top three is Polish Raków, which has never before advanced from the group in European cups but may now reach the sixteen best teams of the Conference League.

The news about the exit of another Ukrainian team, Dynamo, is unpleasant: the Kyiv team leaves the tournament prematurely as they are already losing 24th place, which is occupied by Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps, by four points, which cannot be made up for in one round. However, the fight for the last qualifying spots will still be interesting: eight teams are within two points, so even Icelandic 'Breidablik', which is nominally the least likely option to qualify for the playoffs, could cling to a not-so-motivated 'Strasbourg' and sneak into the last wagon.

In the fifth round of the Conference League, only 'Shakhtar' claimed victory, while other Ukrainian teams suffered defeats. The round showcased many surprises and defined the first participants of the Round of 16. The battle for tickets to the next stage promises to be very tense, especially among teams fighting for the last spots to advance further.