It only looks like an ordinary 0-0 in a summer Champions League second round, but it’s much more than that for Dynamo kyiv. The Ukrainian club played their first official game on Wednesday evening since the start of Russia’s invasion of the country in late February. A draw against the Turks of Fenerbahçe in the first act of the double confrontation between the two clubs. This first leg was scheduled at home for the team from the capital of this former Soviet republic, forced to play Wednesday in Lodz, in central Poland.
“It was our first official match in eight months (Editor’s note: the last dates back to December). It wasn’t easy, explained Dynamo coach Mircea Lucescu after the match. The problem is that we don’t know our potential. We did not dare to take risks in this situation. Fenerbahçe’s level was good because they worked well during this transfer window. But we managed to oppose them despite this and the difficult situation in Ukraine. »
To prepare for this European deadline, Dynamo kyiv played several friendly matches, including two against Lyon in July. The club, sixteen times champion of Ukraine, is handicapped by its schedule disrupted by the war, but also by its lack of visibility in the transfer market. “Who wants to come to Ukraine at the moment? Nobody. We have to use the players we have, says Mircea Lucescu. We saw our potential in this match, everything will be fine on the return. »
The two teams will meet in Istanbul on Wednesday July 27. The winner of the double confrontation will play the third preliminary round, where Monaco competes against PSV Eindhoven, against the Austrians of Sturm Graz. One of these three teams will then go to the play-offs, the last stage before the group stage of the Champions League.