Shakhtar Donetsk: Lassina Traoré continues resurgent 2026 with game-winner

The last few years have been very difficult for Lassina Traoré but the Burkina Faso national team striker continued his encouraging start to 2026 with the only goal in Shakhtar Donetsk’s 1-0 Ukrainian Premier League win over FC Oleksandriya.

 

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The powerful forward was in the right place for an easy finish from Brazilian fullback Pedro Henrique just after an hour gone. The 25-year-old now has four goals in his last three league matches.

Traoré’s efforts to re-spark club career at Shakhtar Donetsk

Traoré was limited to only three appearances with his club in the first half of the 2025-26 season before jetting off to Morocco for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. He made four appearances in Morocco, scoring a goal for Les Étalons in a 2-0 victory over Sudan.

National team duty proved to be an excellent way for the former Ajax player to increase his match fitness during Ukrainian football’s extended winter break. In the club’s return to action on February 22, Traoré came off the bench to score all three goals in a 3-0 home victory over Karpaty Lviv.

While he has not been completely out of action, Traoré has not looked the same ever since suffering a brutal leg injury that left him out for nearly a year following a promising start to his time with Shakhtar early in the 2021-22 season. It has been a long road back for the Bobo Dioulasso native, with injries being a regular occurrence including a long-term hamstring ailment in the current campaign.

But he is beginning to show promising signs for a club that is eager to reclaim their position on the throne of Ukrainian football. A shocking third place finish last season saw title rivals Dynamo Kiev end two seasons of dominance from Shakhtar Donetsk, who have won the title in eleven of the last fifteen seasons in the country’s top flight.

Traoré’s fighting spirit and dedication to hard work during this difficult period in his career has earned the admiration of the club’s supporters. Shakhtar are now six points clear of closest contenders LNZ Cherkasy while Dynamos are struggling in fourth place, leaving the title Shakhtar’s to lose.