Victory in the battle of the champions!
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
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Shakhtar hosted Barcelona in Hamburg in the 4th round of the Champions League group stage
In the match against the leaders of the group, head coach of the Miners Marino Pusic made several changes in the line-up compared to the previous games: Riznyk played in the goal, as expected, Gocholeishvili (right wing) and Matviienko (left wing) operated as full-backs, and Bondar and Rakitskyi formed the duo of center backs, inside forwards Sudakov and Kryskiv acted in the middle of the field next to captain Stepanenko, Newerton played on the left attacking wing from the first minutes, Zubkov took the right winger position, and Sikan played as a forward.
Advantage in moments and Sikan's goal before the break
The starting stretch of the match passed in a close competition, meanwhile the quick attacks of Shakhtar looked sharper. At first, Kryskiv almost brought Zubkov to meet the goalkeeper, but Christensen prevented this with a successful tackle. Matviienko had a great chance when he joined on the left wing, received a cross from his teammate, but hit ter Stegen's leg. In the first half hour, the visiting team had only inaccurate long-range shots by Gundogan and Raphinha, as well as several unsuccessful attempts by Lewandowski to run one on one with Riznyk. Therefore, it is quite natural that the Miners managed to open the scoring: in the 40th minute, Sudakov found Gocholeishvili on the right wing diagonally, he made a cross into the centre of the penalty area, and Danylo Sikan headed the ball into the top corner – 1-0.
Playing under pressure and a well-deserved victory
Immediately after the break, Gocholeishvili could double the score: the Georgian full-back received a cross at the right edge of the penalty area and shot from a tight angle, but ter Stegen saved the visiting team. Sikan had a similar opportunity after Zubkov's pass, but he also shot into the goalkeeper at an angle. Barcelona head coach Xavi reacted radically to such a course of events on the field, making 4 substitutions at the 60th minute, while Marino Pusic released Kelsy instead of Sikan, who was injured. From the middle of the second half, the Catalans started to act more actively in attack: Yamal's header almost hit the far corner, and after Felix's shot, the ball deflected off near the post. In response, Newerton joined nicely on the wing and shot into the net, but from the outside. Another forced substitution of the Orange-and-Blacks was Nazaryna replacing injured Stepanenko. The pressure from the champions of Spain increased every minute, but the defense of Shakhtar led by Dmytro Riznyk played confidently and reliably. In the 87th minute, the host team managed to carry out the counterattack, which was completed by Newerton with a well-placed shot into the far top corner – however, the goal was disallowed due to offside. The referee added as much as 7 minutes to the normal time, and the opponents could have avoided defeat when Lewandowski headed from a few meters, but Rakitskyi prevented the ball from crossing the goal line.
1-0 – Shakhtar defeated Barcelona and continue fighting for advancing to play-offs with 6 points! Antwerp will be the next opponents of the Miners in the Champions League.
And on Sunday, November 12, Shakhtar will play an important UPL match – Marino Pusic's team will host Dnipro-1 in the 14th round. The game will take place at Arena Lviv and will kick off at 19:00.
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 (1-0) Barcelona
Hamburg, Volksparkstadion, 49,147 spectators
Goal: 1-0 Sikan (40′)
Shakhtar: Riznyk, Gocholeishvili, Bondar, Rakitskyi, Matviienko, Stepanenko (c) (Nazaryna, 72′), Kryskiv, Sudakov, Zubkov, Newerton (Shved, 90′+8), Sikan (Kelsy, 62′)
Advantage in moments and Sikan's goal before the break
The starting stretch of the match passed in a close competition, meanwhile the quick attacks of Shakhtar looked sharper. At first, Kryskiv almost brought Zubkov to meet the goalkeeper, but Christensen prevented this with a successful tackle. Matviienko had a great chance when he joined on the left wing, received a cross from his teammate, but hit ter Stegen's leg. In the first half hour, the visiting team had only inaccurate long-range shots by Gundogan and Raphinha, as well as several unsuccessful attempts by Lewandowski to run one on one with Riznyk. Therefore, it is quite natural that the Miners managed to open the scoring: in the 40th minute, Sudakov found Gocholeishvili on the right wing diagonally, he made a cross into the centre of the penalty area, and Danylo Sikan headed the ball into the top corner – 1-0.
Playing under pressure and a well-deserved victory
Immediately after the break, Gocholeishvili could double the score: the Georgian full-back received a cross at the right edge of the penalty area and shot from a tight angle, but ter Stegen saved the visiting team. Sikan had a similar opportunity after Zubkov's pass, but he also shot into the goalkeeper at an angle. Barcelona head coach Xavi reacted radically to such a course of events on the field, making 4 substitutions at the 60th minute, while Marino Pusic released Kelsy instead of Sikan, who was injured. From the middle of the second half, the Catalans started to act more actively in attack: Yamal's header almost hit the far corner, and after Felix's shot, the ball deflected off near the post. In response, Newerton joined nicely on the wing and shot into the net, but from the outside. Another forced substitution of the Orange-and-Blacks was Nazaryna replacing injured Stepanenko. The pressure from the champions of Spain increased every minute, but the defense of Shakhtar led by Dmytro Riznyk played confidently and reliably. In the 87th minute, the host team managed to carry out the counterattack, which was completed by Newerton with a well-placed shot into the far top corner – however, the goal was disallowed due to offside. The referee added as much as 7 minutes to the normal time, and the opponents could have avoided defeat when Lewandowski headed from a few meters, but Rakitskyi prevented the ball from crossing the goal line.
1-0 – Shakhtar defeated Barcelona and continue fighting for advancing to play-offs with 6 points! Antwerp will be the next opponents of the Miners in the Champions League.
And on Sunday, November 12, Shakhtar will play an important UPL match – Marino Pusic's team will host Dnipro-1 in the 14th round. The game will take place at Arena Lviv and will kick off at 19:00.
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 (1-0) Barcelona
Hamburg, Volksparkstadion, 49,147 spectators
Goal: 1-0 Sikan (40′)
Shakhtar: Riznyk, Gocholeishvili, Bondar, Rakitskyi, Matviienko, Stepanenko (c) (Nazaryna, 72′), Kryskiv, Sudakov, Zubkov, Newerton (Shved, 90′+8), Sikan (Kelsy, 62′)
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