Matchday 10 of the Ukrainian Premier League has concluded, becoming one of the lowest-scoring in the current season: only 12 goals were scored across eight matches. The main protagonists of the round were Polissya and Shakhtar, who retained their leading positions in the standings, as well as Kharkiv, which surpassed Dynamo Kyiv and secured third place. Sport RBC.UA editorial team, as after every matchday, compiled its own version of the symbolic eleven, including the players who performed best in the matches from October 23 to 25.
Round Progress: From Blowouts to Goalless Draws
The Matchday 10 program started on Friday, October 23, with three matches: Polissya thrashed Obolon, Kolos defeated Veres, and Dynamo beat Kudrivka. On Saturday, Livyi Bereh drew with LNZ, Kharkiv snatched a victory against Epicentr, and Shakhtar failed to overcome Zorya. The round concluded on Sunday with two goalless draws — Chornomorets against Karpaty and Bukovyna against Kryvbas. It was these clean sheets that determined the overall low goal tally in the round, putting the emphasis on defensive actions and goalkeeper reliability.
Symbolic Team of the Week
Four experts joined the traditional Sport RBC.UA editorial poll this time — Danylo Vereitin, Nikita Malyugin, Andriy Kostenko, and Ihor Ilyin. The only player included in the symbolic teams by all four respondents was Polissya forward Ihor Krasnopyr, who scored his ninth goal of the championship in the match against Obolon. Three mentions each were received by Illia Krupskyi («Kharkiv»), Borys Krushynskyi («Polissya»), Bohdan Kushnirenko («Zorya»), Oleksandr Pikhalyonok («Dynamo»), Mykola Mykhaylenko («Dynamo»), Vladyslav Velykan («Polissya»), and Ramik Hadzhiev («Kharkiv»). Two votes were gathered by Oleksandr Saputin («Zorya»), Luka Stankovski («Kolos»), Sebastian Castillo («Kharkiv»), Oleksandr Kemkin («Kryvbas»), and Anton Salabay («Kolos»). The final eleven was formed taking into account positional balance and respondents' formations.
Goalscorer Race: Krasnopyr Alone at the Top
After 10 matchdays, 25-year-old Polissya forward Ihor Krasnopyr remains the sole leader of the goalscorer race, bringing his personal tally to nine goals. The closest pursuers remain Baton Zabergja from Kharkiv with six goals and Matviy Ponomarenko from Dynamo with five. The three-goal gap in favor of the leader makes him the main contender for the Golden Boot at the current stage of the season.
Standings and the Upcoming Matchday
In the standings after Matchday 10, Polissya leads with 25 points in ten matches, ahead of Shakhtar, which has scored the same number of points but trails on goal difference. Third place is occupied by Kharkiv (21 points in nine matches), and fourth by Dynamo (19 points, one game in hand). At the bottom of the table, Kryvbas and Chornomorets have six points each, while Kudrivka rounds out the list with five points. The next, 11th UPL matchday starts on Friday, October 30, and will last four days: Shakhtar will open it with a match against Obolon, two games will be held on Saturday and Sunday, and the remaining three fixtures are scheduled for Monday, November 2.
