Ferencváros Secure Knockout Stage Spot with 4-0 Victory over Dynamo Kyiv

Ferencváros (also called Fradi, FTC) beat Dynamo Kyiv 4-0 from a man advantage in Hamburg in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League fourth round, and secured their place in the knockout stage with Thursday’s victory.

The Ukrainians held their ground in the first half, despite falling behind in the 17th minute after a red card for Vladyslav Dubinchak.

In the second half, the Hungarian champions gained a huge advantage and won easily with a double from Barnabás Varga and goals from Kristoffer Zachariassen and substitute Matheus Saldanha.

Dynamo Kyiv, who are currently without a point or a goal in the Europa League, were beaten for the first time in their history by a Hungarian side.

Ferencváros will host Swedish side Malmö FF in the Groupama Arena in Budapest in the fifth round in three weeks’ time.

The victims of the floods in Valencia were remembered with a minute’s silence at the Volksparkstadion, where Dynamo Kyiv play their home games on the international stage due to the war in Ukraine. Despite the neutral venue with a capacity of more than 50,000 spectators, more than 5,000 fans attended, including 300 Ferencváros supporters.

The Hungarian team started the match with a dominant position, but no serious situation developed. As soon as the game was level, the Ukrainian team went behind after Dubinchak badly stomped on Cebrail Makreckis’ ankle. After the red card, Ferencváros was in control again, and the first shot on goal came after 20 minutes, with Kady Borges’s effort being pushed over the crossbar by Mohammed Abu Fani.

The Ukrainians were clearly set up for a counter-attacking game in a man-down situation, and they had some dangerous moves, for example Nazar Voloshyn’s shot from a dangerous position was blocked by Cristian Ramírez at the last minute. The Green and Whites had more and more possession in the time remaining until the break. Despite this, Kiev came closer to scoring, as first Vladyslav Kabayev‘s shot from an acute angle and then Vladyslav Vanat’s header hit the crossbar.

After the half time change, Ferencváros came out with a different mentality- they had the upper hand and were pressing their opponents.

In five minutes, the substitute goalkeeper of the Ukrainian national team made three great saves, and twice the defenders made saves from the goal line. The pressure paid off, as Ferencváros scored two goals in three minutes to seal the match: first Barnabás Varga, the top scorer, and then Zachariassen scored from the left corner.

After that, the Hungarian team slowed down a bit, but Varga still scored his second goal with a header. The substitutes gave FTC new impetus as debutant Norbert Kaján scored a goal, while a minute after his substitution, the Brazilian striker Matheus Saldanha scored from a pass. The Ukrainians fought hard for the goal in the dying seconds, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Via MTI; Featured image via MTI/MTI Fotószerkesztõség/Czeglédi Zsolt