Sheriff will make their UEFA Champions League debut on Wednesday evening when they host Shakhtar Donetsk at Bolshaya Sportivnaya Arena.

Sheriff became the inaugural Moldovan team to qualify for the group phase of the most elite continental competition by beating Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on aggregate in the playoffs.

It was an enormous success for the Ukrainian manager Yuriy Vernydub and his men who proved to be super-tough to break down this summer.

The rock-solid defense was the team’s main catalyst for success. Sheriff have conceded only two goals in eight Champions League qualifiers, beating four different opponents from the very first round in the process.

Vernydub’s troops allowed just one goal in four matches against the likes of Red Star Belgrade and Dinamo Zagreb who have both featured the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League last season.

Nevertheless, Sheriff are massive underdogs in the group with Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Shakhtar are their “easiest” rivals on paper, but this will be anything but an easy affair for the Moldovans.

The Ukrainian outfit have a much broader experience at this level. This is their fifth straight appearance in the group stage of the Champions League.

Shakhtar managed to beat the likes of Real Madrid both home and away and keep Inter Milan to back-to-back goalless draws in the previous term of the Champions League.

They showed strength this summer, too, eliminating the likes of Genk (two separate 2-1 wins) and Monaco (after extra-time) en route to this phase.



译文(自动翻译仅供参考):

警长将在周三晚上的欧冠联赛中首次亮相，他们将在博尔沙亚体育竞技场主场迎战顿涅茨克矿工队。

在季后赛中，Sheriff以总比分3-0击败克罗地亚球队萨格勒布迪纳摩，成为摩尔多瓦第一支晋级欧洲大陆最精英赛事小组赛的球队。

这对乌克兰主教练尤里·凡尼杜布和他的队员来说是一个巨大的成功，他们在这个夏天被证明是超级坚强的。

坚如磐石的防守是团队成功的主要催化剂。Sheriff在8场冠军联赛预选赛中只丢了2球，从第一轮就击败了4个不同的对手。

维尔尼杜布的球队在与贝尔格莱德红星队和萨格勒布迪纳摩队的四场比赛中只丢了一个球，这两支球队都是上赛季欧冠淘汰赛的主力。

尽管如此，Sheriff在与国际米兰、皇家马德里和顿涅茨克矿工的比赛中处于劣势。

理论上，矿工是他们“最容易”的竞争对手，但这对摩尔多瓦来说绝不是一件容易的事情。

乌克兰部队在这方面的经验要丰富得多。这是他们连续第五次在欧冠小组赛中出场。

在上个赛季的欧冠联赛中，矿工队成功地在主场和客场击败了皇家马德里这样的球队，并让国际米兰连续两轮0 - 0战平。

他们在这个夏天也表现出了实力，在这个阶段淘汰了Genk(两场分别以2-1取胜)和摩纳哥(在加时赛之后)。