Chelsea: Mykhailo Mudryk stuns Germany with Ukraine goal - and a bit of help from Antonio Rudiger
Chelsea star helps secure comeback in Bremen friendly
ykhailo Mudryk may not have enjoyed a great end to his club season but the Chelsea winger put a positive stamp on the final weeks of his international campaign against Germany on Monday.
Ukraine’s trip to Bremen was officially a friendly but also had the significance of being Die Mannschaft’s 1,000th international match and being used to promote peace and solidarity amid Russia’s invasion of the away team’s homeland.
Yet the game was played at an often-frenetic pace, with the first big chance after just 90 seconds. Mudryk’s errant pass in his own half handed Niclas Fullkrug the ball and he stunningly missed from inside the Ukrainian box.
The Werder Bremen forward put Germany in front on six minutes however before Viktor Tsyhankov hit a first-half equaliser, which was initially ruled out for offside before VAR intervened.
Ukraine completed their comeback in the 23rd minute when Oleksandr Tymchyk cut a cross back from the right flank and Mudryk fired off a shot towards goal.
Probably heading wide, the ball deflected off the unsuspecting foot of Antonio Rudiger and into the back of the net - which meant it officially stood as an own goal.
Germany ultimately ended up taking a draw from the game thanks to a turnaround of their own, having conceded again to Tsyhankov early in the second half. Chelsea’s Kai Havertz came off the bench to net late on before winning a penalty, which Joshua Kimmich converted in stoppage time to make it 3-3.
Ukraine are preparing for Euro 2024 qualifiers against Nort Macedonia and Malta later this month, having lost their only Group C game so far to England.
Germany will host next summer’s tournament and soon continue their schedule of friendlies against Poland and Colombia.