Klub juara Ukraina, Shakhtar Donetsk, mencatatkan diri sebagai tim dengan penyelesaian akhir paling efisien dalam kompetisi Liga Konferensi UEFA musim 2025/2026 berdasarkan data statistik resmi expected goals atau xG yang dirilis pada Kamis, 21 Mei 2026. Dilansir dari laporan resmi UEFA, tim asuhan Arda Turan tersebut mencetak 21 gol dari total nilai xG yang hanya sebesar 16,02, sehingga mereka mengemas 4,98 gol lebih banyak dari peluang yang dimiliki.
Di sisi lain, finalis kompetisi Crystal Palace justru berada di papan bawah efisiensi setelah mencetak 25 gol dari nilai xG sebesar 31,14 yang berarti mereka menghasilkan 6,14 gol lebih sedikit dari perkiraan metrik.
| Tim | Gol Dicetak | xG | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shakhtar | 21 | 16.02 | 4.98 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 9 | 6.07 | 2.93 |
| Rayo Vallecano | 22 | 20.21 | 1.79 |
| Drita | 8 | 6.38 | 1.62 |
| Raków Częstochowa | 11 | 9.75 | 1.25 |
Ketajaman lini serang Shakhtar Donetsk diperkuat dengan kepastian bertahannya penyerang internasional Burkina Faso, Lassina Traore. Pemain berusia 25 tahun tersebut resmi menandatangani perpanjangan kontrak baru berdurasi lima tahun pada Selasa, 19 Mei 2026 yang mengikatnya di klub hingga musim panas 2031.
Langkah ini diambil manajemen demi memagari pemain yang didatangkan dari Ajax Amsterdam seharga 10 juta euro pada Juli 2021 tersebut dari incaran sejumlah klub Eropa lainnya. Melansir laporan harianbasis.co dan mediakompeten.co.id, Traore telah mengoleksi 31 gol dan 23 asis dari 115 penampilan di semua kompetisi bersama klub.
"Stability, the Champions League, and I find all the perfect conditions here, the trust at every level to develop." ujar Lassina Traoré, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
Sebelum kesepakatan kontrak baru tersebut diumumkan, Traore berkontribusi mencetak gol pembuka dalam kemenangan dramatis Shakhtar 3-2 atas Kryvbas KR pada pertandingan pekan kedua terakhir liga. Laga tersebut berlangsung melebihi empat jam akibat interupsi peringatan serangan udara setelah skuad melewati perjalanan darat selama 16 jam.
“A difficult week for you. The match against Obolon lasted 4 hours due to air raid alerts, today's game with Kryvbas lasted almost 5. Is this the most difficult week for Shakhtar in this period? You do look really tired and exhausted.” tanya wartawan kepada Arda Turan.
Pelatih kepala Arda Turan menyanggah anggapan tersebut sembari membandingkannya dengan fase padat kompetisi domestik dan Eropa sebelumnya ketika mereka harus melakoni tiga pertandingan Premier League Ukraina dalam sepekan.
“No, I wouldn’t say it is the most difficult period. First of all, we are here for the children and for all the fans present, so we knew why we were travelling here. I would compare it with other, in my view, more demanding periods – for example, when we had three UPL matches in a week, including the rescheduled game with Zorya, as well as period when we had to compete on two fronts, in the Ukrainian league and in European competitions. It is also always difficult to return after international breaks and get back into rhythm. So yes, it is physically demanding, but as I said, we played for the children and for everyone here in the stands. Despite the external circumstances, which of course were not very pleasant, we understood the purpose of what we were doing.” kata Arda Turan, Pelatih Kepala Shakhtar Donetsk.
Turan menambahkan penjelasan mengenai situasi kelelahan fisik serta dua pergantian pemain terpaksa akibat cedera pada babak pertama pertandingan tersebut.
"I think all the science in the world cannot provide a fully complete answer to that question. Given our schedule and the fact that we travelled here for 16 hours, there is no need to look for any special explanations. And if I’m not mistaken, in our last 16 matches we have regularly played two or three games a week, so I believe that says more than any explanation I could give." kata Arda Turan, Pelatih Kepala Shakhtar Donetsk.
Turan juga mengungkapkan bahwa timnya kerap berbagi candaan internal mengenai produktivitas gol sang penyerang di dalam lapangan.
“We always have some small private jokes between us which we use in relation to whether he managed to score or not. For me, he is not only a footballer but, first of all, a person, and his contribution to us winning the Ukrainian Premier League title this season simply cannot be overstated. And I truly love him.” tutur Arda Turan, Pelatih Kepala Shakhtar Donetsk.
Terkait rotasi pemain inti seperti Riznyk dan Mykola Matviienko menjelang laga penutup musim, pihak kepelatihan menyerahkan keputusan akhir kepada jajaran manajemen puncak klub demi mengurangi risiko cedera.
“We will think about it, and the decision will be made at the level of the club’s top management. We take into account all the minutes played over the season by each individual performer, as well as the potential risk of injury in this final stage of the season. If we go through the individuals briefly, Riznyk played a lot and deserved this rest; Kaua Elias and Alisson were injured, so they could also have left the club’s camp, but they continue to train individually. Mykola Matviienko has been called up very frequently to the Ukraine national team over the last two seasons, where he has also played full matches, so he was given time to rest in order to reduce the workload and the risk of injury ahead of the next season.” jelas Arda Turan, Pelatih Kepala Shakhtar Donetsk.
Ketika ditanya mengenai rencana perekrutan pemain baru untuk menghadapi level kompetisi Liga Champions musim depan, Turan mengarahkan pertanyaan tersebut kepada Direktur Olahraga klub.
“I’m responsible for building the team in tactical and technical terms, and of course the Champions League is a completely different level of competition and a different level of football challenge, but regarding the actual squad planning and recruitment, it would be better to direct that question to Darijo Srna.” ungkap Arda Turan, Pelatih Kepala Shakhtar Donetsk.
Dalam pertandingan melawan Kryvbas tersebut, bintang muda asal Nigeria Prosper Obah turut mencuri perhatian lewat torehan dua gol penentu kemenangan setelah masuk sebagai pemain pengganti. Penyerang berusia 22 tahun yang baru bergabung dari LNZ Cherkasy pada Januari lalu itu kini tengah dipantau oleh beberapa klub Inggris seperti Coventry City, Middlesbrough, dan Southampton.
“Today was a good game, although a very difficult one. We traveled here for 16 hours, which is also not easy, but we played a solid match despite air raid alerts and other circumstances” puji Prosper Obah, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
Obah menambahkan bahwa seluruh elemen tim telah memperlihatkan daya juang tinggi demi mengamankan kemenangan ketujuh secara beruntun di kancah liga domestik.
“We really fought on the pitch and are very happy that we managed to win. And I am very, very happy that I was able to score two good goals in this match. I’m truly happy about it!” kata Prosper Obah, Penyerang Shakhtar Donetsk.
Berdasarkan laporan Media Kampung, Shakhtar Donetsk tampil dominan sepanjang kompetisi dan berhasil memastikan gelar juara Liga Premier Ukraina musim ini. Selanjutnya, Shakhtar Donetsk dijadwalkan akan menutup kampanye liga domestik dengan menghadapi Kolos Kovalivka pada akhir pekan ini.
