A four-time Premier League champion and Ukraine national football team full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko wrapped himself up in the flag of his motherland after providing vital contributions throughout the title-winning season.
It was an emotional moment for the Ukrainian as he was seen in tears after the conclusion of the 3-2 win against Aston Villa, which propelled the Citizens to 93 points, sealing the title triumph.
The Josep Guardiola-led side was involved in a title race with Liverpool that went down to the wire as the Reds were only trailing City by a point going into the final matchday of the season.
One of the vital cogs of the Manchester City winning machine, Zinchenko made 15 Premier League appearances this season and provided four assists, often playing in the left-back position.
Out of the four assists, three assists came in his last five Premier League starts highlighting the importance of his contributions at a crucial stage of the season when the Jurgen Klopp’s side was breathing down City’s neck to usurp them to the first position in the league standings.
The injury-curtailed season was tough on the player hailing from the war-torn country as he endured a tough Covid-19 period as well along with multiple injuries which made him miss several important matches. Most notably, the Ukrainian missed five matches in a row in September/October last year.
In his recent media interaction, the versatile player opened up on how tough it was for footballers from Ukraine to focus on the ongoing European football season with ‘all that was going on in the country’.
Zinchecnko further said that with the support from his teammates and support staff, he was able to fight back, and the club eventually went on to lift the Premier League title.
The 25-year-old talked about his countrymen – including those who play in the Ukrainian Premier League – who has been involved in Ukraine’s fightback against Russia since the morning of February 24 and are now starving because of the aggression in his motherland.
He said that he is ready to die for the people who supported him through the toughest period of his life and wants to bring the Premier League title back to them because they are the ones who deserve it truly.
The former PSV loanee further said that he will never forget about the support and is appreciative of his countrymen, reports UA-Football.
The UEFA Champions League campaign wasn’t a huge success for Manchester City though, as Guardiola and company missed out on reaching the final after leading the tie on aggregate for most of the crucial semi-final fixture against Real Madrid.
Zinchenko will now be seen in action in Ukraine’s World Cup qualification matches to be played against Scotland national team on June 1. The winner of that fixture will face Wales on June 5 in a bid to fight for the final spot in the Group B of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which is scheduled take place in November/December later this year.