Ukraine international Ruslan Malinovskyi scored two splendid goals for Atalanta against Olympiacos in the Europa League and showed a message for his country after Russia attacked.
The creative midfielder finished off a well-worked team move from the Teun Koopmeiners assist, then hit one of his trademark left-foot screamers into the top corner from distance, all in the space of two minutes.
It gave Atalanta a 5-1 aggregate lead against Olympiacos in the Europa League play-off.
Above all, it was an opportunity for Malinovskyi to make a statement on the world stage, just hours after Russian tanks rolled into Ukrainian territory.
He lifted his Atalanta jersey to show a T-Shirt with a very simple message: ‘No War In Ukraine.’
Malinovskyi was hugged by his teammates, who know this has been a very difficult time for him and his family.
There is also a Russian player in the Atalanta squad, Aleksei Miranchuk, but he has been out injured for some time.
Ukraine international Ruslan Malinovskyi reveals a shirt with the message ‘No war in Ukraine’ after scoring for Atalanta tonight.#UEL pic.twitter.com/iImpz6SXRD
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 24, 2022
Bravo Mali
BRAVO
Magnificent resilience and performance from Malinovskyi given the stress and heartache he must be feeling for his family and friends back home.