Aleks Zinchenko and Vitaliy Mykolenko shared a quiet moment on the pitch ahead of Manchester City's Premier League meeting with Everton.
Both Ukrainian internationals have far more important things to worry about than football this week, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine shocking the world. Zinchenko has posted messages of support for his homeland and attended a vigil in Manchester City centre on Thursday night.
City and Everton both named the players on the bench on Saturday, and they were given a huge welcome at Goodison Park as they emerged to warm up. Fans from both sides displayed Ukraine flags and banners, and voiced their support for the pair and the rest of Ukraine before kick-off.
Zinchenko temporarily left the City warm-up to meet Mykolenko on the halfway line to embrace his national teammate and share a quiet moment together.
As the players emerged, City players wore t-shirts with the Ukraine flag and the message 'NO WAR.' Everton players all wore Ukraine flags around their shoulders, while flags were raised in the stands and the song 'He ain't heavy, he's my brother' played on the tannoy.
Speaking ahead of the game, Pep Guardiola said: "Of course we are sensitive for everything, especially for Aleks. Is an issue for all around the world, not just for the Ukraine people, even for innocent Russian people because they are sent to war and don't want to go.
"We are sensitive of the headlines. He's worried, you should be worried if the country you grow up, your language and friends and families and one or two people decide to attack you. You'd be worried and I think Aleks is."
Everton boss Frank Lampard added: "It's important to show the support, we have a lot of empathy at the club. some of the support in the sporting world has been fantastic.
"When we have a player as City do. I've had a conversation with him, it's always been his decision to be involved. There's never been an inkling that he doesn't want to be involved. I think it's a small relief for him to train and be involved and be part of our family.
"The onus is on us to do what we can, there's not much help to know we're there for him. It's tough for him and I'm sure both sets of fans will give big reactions to those players."
