NK Slaven Belupo vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Arda Turan's side dominated the first half without finding the net. Lucas saw an early effort drift just wide, while Mykola Matviienko volleyed wide from a cross at the far post. Traore and Lucas both went close with headers, and Newertton struck from the edge of the box with Traore getting a touch — but the ball still crept past the post. The half ended 0-0.

Turan changed all ten outfield players at the break, with only goalkeeper Bahlai staying on. The fresh legs had an immediate impact. In the 56th minute, Alisson Santana received a pass on the right flank, beat his defender and curled a superb finish into the far corner from the edge of the box to make it 1-0.

Slaven Belupo responded in the 63rd minute when Petrović collected the ball outside the area and fired a first-time effort into the left corner. Six minutes later, the Croatian midfielder struck again — this time curling a shot from 15 metres into the top corner to give his side a 2-1 lead.

Shakhtar laid siege to the Croatian goal in the closing stages. In the 88th minute, Yevhen Nazaryna delivered a corner from the left, and Oleksandr Karavaev flicked the ball over the line with a clever backheel at the near post to make it 2-2. Both sides had late chances — Mazur and Ryan Roberto both missed the target — but neither could find a winner.

Turan's decision to replace the entire outfield at half-time changed the match's tempo. The first XI had controlled possession without incision; the second XI scored within 11 minutes. But the wholesale changes also disrupted Shakhtar's defensive structure, which Petrović twice exploited with goals from the edge of the box. The tactical gamble paid off only partially — Shakhtar got a goal from the fresh legs, but also conceded twice to a side that had offered little in the first half.

Alisson Santana (Shakhtar) — The Brazilian winger was the most dangerous player on the pitch. His 56th-minute opener was a moment of individual quality, cutting inside from the right and placing the ball into the far corner. He also teed up Ryan Roberto for a late chance that went over the bar.

M. Petrović (Slaven Belupo) — Two goals in six minutes, both from outside the box, turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. His first was a first-time strike, the second a curled effort into the top corner. The clear player of the match.

Oleksandr Karavaev (Shakhtar) — Introduced at right-back at half-time, the Ukrainian international scored the 88th-minute equaliser with a well-executed backheel from a corner. It was the kind of improvisation that suggests sharpness early in pre-season.

Shakhtar's 0-0 half-time scoreline flattered Slaven Belupo — the Miners created several chances from crosses but failed to convert. The first-half pressure would have generated a significant xG advantage based on the chances described in the official match report. The second half was a mirror image: Shakhtar scored inside 11 minutes, but Slaven Belupo's two goals came from just two shots on target — both from Petrović. The 88th-minute equaliser gave Shakhtar a share of the spoils that their overall volume of play perhaps merited, but the defensive fragilities exposed by the wholesale changes will be a concern for Turan.

This was Shakhtar's second pre-season friendly under Arda Turan. The Ukrainian champions are building towards their domestic season, with the 2026-27 Ukrainian Premier League campaign expected to begin in late August. Slaven Belupo, competing in the Croatian HNL, will start their season in the same window. Shakhtar's next friendly is against Croatian side Gorica on 23 July, also in Slovenia. For a betting audience, the key takeaway is Shakhtar's defensive vulnerability after mass changes — a pattern that could persist in early-season fixtures if Turan continues to rotate heavily.

A pre-season friendly that offered exactly what it should: 90 minutes of running, a tactical experiment that partially worked, and a late equaliser to avoid defeat. Petrović's brace was the standout individual performance, but Karavaev's poacher's finish showed the depth of quality in Turan's squad. The wholesale second-half change will be a recurring theme to watch as Shakhtar build towards competitive football.