- In a fierce Champions League match, Danylo Sikan’s header in the first half lifted Shakhtar Donetsk to victory against Barcelona.
- Following their second victory in the group, Shakhtar, presently in third position, closed the gap on top-ranked Barcelona by three points.
- Barcelona recorded their first loss in Europe this season.
In a fierce Champions League match at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Danylo Sikan’s header in the first half lifted Shakhtar Donetsk to victory against Barcelona.
It appeared as though a scoreless first half would conclude in a draw, but in the fortyth minute, Sikan scored his third goal in Europe of the season by heading a header past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
In the last moments of the game, Shakhtar appeared to have extended their lead after withstanding the onslaught from Barcelona in the second half when Newerton curled a wonderful shot into the far corner.
Even though the Brazilian’s effort was eventually disregarded for an offside call, Shakhtar remained unfazed and went on to secure an incredible triumph.
Shakhtar Donetsk beat FC Barcelona 1-0. Photo BNN News
Following their second victory in the group, Shakhtar, presently in third position, closed the gap on top-ranked Barcelona by three points.
Barcelona would have been optimistic about their prospects of winning again in the rematch after defeating the other team 2-1 in their meeting on matchday three.
Even though the La Liga winners had the upper hand early on, a resolute Shakhtar team appeared eager to exact revenge for their loss to them last month.
In the fifteenth minute, Mykola Matviyenko almost put the chosen hosts ahead after latching onto a long ball over the top and drawing Ter Stegen’s attention.
Despite Raphinha’s erroneous long-range attempt, Barcelona was unable to go past first gear throughout the first forty-five minutes.
Marino Pusic’s team capitalized on the visitors’ inability to get going, scoring a skillfully constructed goal in the closing seconds of the first half.
Georgiy Sudakov saw his team have a brief period of control before sensibly switching the ball to Giorgi Gocholeishvili, who lofted a ball into the box, where Sikan headed it home with accuracy.
Ter Stegen was called to make several saves as Shakhtar tried to win the game. Photo/Getty Images
After the interval, Gocholeishvili came dangerously close to adding his name to the scoresheet, but he was unable to get past Ter Stegen’s unwavering determination.
Before the hour had passed, the Barcelona goalkeeper was called upon once more, this time to deny Sikan his second goal of the game.
As the match went on, Xavi’s team tried to keep their opponents at bay, but they were having trouble creating clear opportunities against a well-trained Shakhtar defense.
The Brazilian cut inside before curling a powerful effort past Ter Stegen in the 87th minute, giving the Ukrainian team a fleeting momentary belief that they had doubled the lead.
Sadly, the assistant’s flag deprived Newerton of his first goal for Shakhtar, but it had little bearing on the outcome as Shakhtar held strong to hand Barcelona their first loss in Europe this season.
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