A step to the last-16

A week earlier, the Miners claimed a 2-0 win in Israel, making a good start before the second meeting. Compared to that encounter, Luis Castro has made only one change in the starting lineup: instead of Taras Stepanenko, he fielded Maycon in midfield, with Sergii Kryvtsov putting the captain’s armband on. We want to note that for the first time after a long break, the match was held in the presence of spectators, with more than ten thousand fans coming to the NSC Olimpiyskiy this night.

Jittery first half

The beginning turned out to be almost level. As usual, Shakhtar dominated possession, but they found it difficult to get past the visitors' defence. Attempts by Patrick and Solomon in the early stages were blocked by the defenders, while Dodo just rippled the side netting. The game slightly revived midway through the first half: Taison's powerful attempt just warmed up Tenenbaum’s hands, Matviienko's finish went high, Marlos missed the target from a great position some minutes later. The Israelis responded with their threats: Ben Chaim was close to bending his corner kick into the back of the net – Anatolii Trubin's great reflexes rescued his side; and yet another corner-kick ended with Pesic’s header rattling the crossbar, plus Peretz’s attempt just shattered the post.

Decisive episode

At half-time, Luis Castro replaced Marlos and Solomon with Marcos Antonio and Tete. In the early stages of the second half, the visitors hit the back of the Miners’ net, but their goal was disallowed due to a foul. The Donetsk team responded with Moraes sending Taison’s pass goalward just inches wide. The exchange of regular, but slightly dangerous attacks continued until the key episode in the game: Tete was racing past Ben Chaim in the penalty area while the Israeli defender brought the Brazilian down. The penalty kick was taken by Junior Moraes who coolly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, making it 1-0. In the remaining time, the Orange-and-Blacks were closer to netting the second one than the opponents to scoring their first one, however, the efforts by Moraes and Tete just lacked precision. The substitutes Korniienko, Konoplyanka and Fernando kept up the pace well enough, also trying to threaten the Tel Aviv team’s goal, but the score remained narrow.

1-0 - Shakhtar again defeated Maccabi in the second leg and secured the Europa League last-16 berth. The Miners will know their Round of 16 opponents on Friday (the draw kicks off at 14:00). Luis Castro's team will have the next match on February 28 against Zorya in Kyiv. The game at the NSC Olimpiyskiy kicks off at 17:00. Tickets are on sale now.

Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 (0-0) Maccabi Tel Aviv

Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskiy, att: 10,217

Goal: 1-0 Moraes (67’ pen)

Shakhtar: Trubin, Dodo, Kryvtsov (c), Vitao (Korniienko 78’), Matviienko, Maycon, Marlos (Marcos 46’), Patrick, Solomon (Tete 46’), Taison (Konoplyanka 78’), Moraes (Fernando 78’)