More than a month after the invasion by Russia, a senior Ukrainian team (Dínamo Kiev juniors had already done so with Sporting, in the Youth League) returned to play a football match.
It was up to Pedro Martins’ Olympiakos (who had Rony Lopes in the second half) to welcome Shakhtar Donetsk, who, with only eleven Ukrainians, are looking to smile again, at a time when football is the least important thing.
With the names of the bombed cities on the backs of orange jerseys, plush toys on the Greek ultras bench, symbolizing the dead children, the Ukrainian actress and singer Polyakova singing the anthem and the two teams posing with a message of peace, the game was marked by heavy symbolism in which the goal by Tiquinho Soares (22′) and the victory of Olympiakos turned out to be the least important.
–
