Video: Everton & Man City’s Russian & Ukrainian stars embrace ahead of kick-off

Aminat AigbeFebruary 26, 2022

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Touching footage stemming from Goodison Park has come to the fore online this evening, showcasing ongoings ahead of kick-off in the clash between Everton and Manchester City.

The clip in questions centers on the hosts’ Vitaliy Mykolenko, and City star Oleksandr Zinchenko.

This of course comes with Mykolenko hailing from Russia, and Zinchenko from Ukraine.

Amid the former’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine under the watch of Vladimir Putin, the Everton and Man City pair, in turn, were keen to make their respective stances on the war which has gripped the globe clear on Saturday.

Emerging onto the Goodison Park pitch ahead of kick-off, Mykolenko and Zinchenko sought out one another, before coming together in a warm embrace:

Man City’s Zinchenko & Everton’s Mykolenko embrace during the warm-up 🇺🇦 🙏 pic.twitter.com/NjgrQOTlOf

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 26, 2022

The latter, meanwhile, was subsequently spotted in tears a short time later, as all inside Goodison sent a collective message of support to Ukraine and its suffering citizens:

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Heartbreaking to see Oleksandr Zinchenko in tears before kick-off as both teams show their support for Ukraine 💔 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/bZYNyziMSh

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 26, 2022

All square

Turning attentions towards the action on the pitch, as things stand midway through the first-half on Merseyside, the scoreline remains locked at 0-0.

Visitors City, as expected, have dominated when it comes to possession, but surprisingly struggled to break down an often leaky Everton backline thus far.

Should that, as expected, change over the coming hour or so, and Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues ultimately emerge with all three points, though, they will open up a 6-point advantage atop the Premier League once more, whilst pushing Everton ever closer to a shock relegation to the Championship.