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Thursday, September 10, 2026
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Shakhtar faced Dutch side PSV away on the UEFA Champions League league phase MD1
For the first match of the European season, Shakhtar head coach Arda Turan named the following starting XI: Riznyk took his place in goal, Matviienko and Bondar started in central defence, Vinicius Tobias and Pedro Henrique played at full-back, Ocheretko, Isaque and Marlon Gomes operated in midfield, Mendoza and Alisson were deployed on the wings, with Kaua Elias up front.
A cautious first half with Mendoza scoring just before the break
Shakhtar started the game on the front foot: in the opening minutes, they controlled possession, played fluidly in the opposition half and registered the first shot of the match, when Alisson’s effort was blocked by the hosts’ defender. In response, the Eindhoven side created arguably the only real chance before the break: Perisic struck a powerful volley from the right side of the box, but the ball flew over the far top corner. Shakhtar then spent a lot of time keeping possession in their own half, drawing the opponents as deep as possible, while the Dutch side were reluctant to commit too many players forward. This positional battle, with a large number of fouls and stoppages, continued throughout the half. Both teams kept up the tempo and attacked, but there was little threat in the final third. The breakthrough came in added time: Marlon Gomes battled tirelessly for the ball in the centre circle, Isaque played it to Gleiker Mendoza on the left, and the winger raced down the flank in trademark style, cut inside and brilliantly curled the ball into the right corner, making it 0-1! It was the Venezuelan player’s first goal for the Orange-and-Blacks in his Champions League debut.
A quick goal from the opponents and a final draw
The second half began with PSV applying intense pressure, and the hosts managed to level the score as early as the 48th minute: a low cross from the left reached the centre of the box, where Dest struck on the volley and fired the ball inside the right post. The Miners responded to conceding by taking control of the game and launching a series of dangerous attacks of their own, winning several set pieces in quick succession. From one of them, Alisson threatened the opposition goal with a free-kick, but the ball went over the top-left corner. Midway through the half, Arda Turan made his first substitutions, bringing on Newertton and Traore. Meanwhile, Isaque had a good chance after breaking down the right and running through on goal, but his effort was straight at the goalkeeper. The teams took turns controlling possession and building positional attacks, but both sides were almost flawless defensively. In the 80th minute, a controversial incident occurred: Isaque went down in the opposition’s penalty area after being pushed in the back, but the officials were not prepared to award a penalty. A few minutes later, the Pitmen could have scored a second: Ocheretko laid the ball off towards the corner of the penalty area, where Traore was ready to finish, but Dest just managed to get there first. In the very next attack, Pedro Henrique came close to lifting the ball under the crossbar after a prolonged attacking move. In the final minute of normal time, the Ukrainian coaching staff made another double substitution, with Kryskiv and Lucas coming on. However, they had no time to influence the result.
1-1 – Shakhtar opened their European campaign with an away draw against PSV.
The next UEFA Champions League match for Arda Turan’s side will take place on October 14, when they host Greek side AEK Athens in London. The game will be played at Stamford Bridge, with kickoff scheduled for 21:00 local time (22:00 Kyiv time). Ticket packages for home Champions League fixtures are on sale.
And next Monday, September 14, the Orange-and-Blacks will play their UPL round 6 match against Chornomorets. The game at the Arena Lviv kicks off at 18:00. Tickets are available at shakhtar.com.
PSV Eindhoven 1-1 (0-1) Shakhtar Donetsk
Eindhoven, PSV Stadion
Goals: 0-1 Mendoza (45+1′), 1-1 Dest (48′)
Shakhtar: Riznyk, Vinicius Tobias, Bondar, Matviienko (c), Pedro Henrique, Ocheretko, Isaque (Kryskiv, 89′), Marlon Gomes, Alisson (Lucas, 89′), Mendoza (Newertton, 66′), Kaua Elias (Traore, 66′)
A cautious first half with Mendoza scoring just before the break
Shakhtar started the game on the front foot: in the opening minutes, they controlled possession, played fluidly in the opposition half and registered the first shot of the match, when Alisson’s effort was blocked by the hosts’ defender. In response, the Eindhoven side created arguably the only real chance before the break: Perisic struck a powerful volley from the right side of the box, but the ball flew over the far top corner. Shakhtar then spent a lot of time keeping possession in their own half, drawing the opponents as deep as possible, while the Dutch side were reluctant to commit too many players forward. This positional battle, with a large number of fouls and stoppages, continued throughout the half. Both teams kept up the tempo and attacked, but there was little threat in the final third. The breakthrough came in added time: Marlon Gomes battled tirelessly for the ball in the centre circle, Isaque played it to Gleiker Mendoza on the left, and the winger raced down the flank in trademark style, cut inside and brilliantly curled the ball into the right corner, making it 0-1! It was the Venezuelan player’s first goal for the Orange-and-Blacks in his Champions League debut.
A quick goal from the opponents and a final draw
The second half began with PSV applying intense pressure, and the hosts managed to level the score as early as the 48th minute: a low cross from the left reached the centre of the box, where Dest struck on the volley and fired the ball inside the right post. The Miners responded to conceding by taking control of the game and launching a series of dangerous attacks of their own, winning several set pieces in quick succession. From one of them, Alisson threatened the opposition goal with a free-kick, but the ball went over the top-left corner. Midway through the half, Arda Turan made his first substitutions, bringing on Newertton and Traore. Meanwhile, Isaque had a good chance after breaking down the right and running through on goal, but his effort was straight at the goalkeeper. The teams took turns controlling possession and building positional attacks, but both sides were almost flawless defensively. In the 80th minute, a controversial incident occurred: Isaque went down in the opposition’s penalty area after being pushed in the back, but the officials were not prepared to award a penalty. A few minutes later, the Pitmen could have scored a second: Ocheretko laid the ball off towards the corner of the penalty area, where Traore was ready to finish, but Dest just managed to get there first. In the very next attack, Pedro Henrique came close to lifting the ball under the crossbar after a prolonged attacking move. In the final minute of normal time, the Ukrainian coaching staff made another double substitution, with Kryskiv and Lucas coming on. However, they had no time to influence the result.
1-1 – Shakhtar opened their European campaign with an away draw against PSV.
The next UEFA Champions League match for Arda Turan’s side will take place on October 14, when they host Greek side AEK Athens in London. The game will be played at Stamford Bridge, with kickoff scheduled for 21:00 local time (22:00 Kyiv time). Ticket packages for home Champions League fixtures are on sale.
And next Monday, September 14, the Orange-and-Blacks will play their UPL round 6 match against Chornomorets. The game at the Arena Lviv kicks off at 18:00. Tickets are available at shakhtar.com.
PSV Eindhoven 1-1 (0-1) Shakhtar Donetsk
Eindhoven, PSV Stadion
Goals: 0-1 Mendoza (45+1′), 1-1 Dest (48′)
Shakhtar: Riznyk, Vinicius Tobias, Bondar, Matviienko (c), Pedro Henrique, Ocheretko, Isaque (Kryskiv, 89′), Marlon Gomes, Alisson (Lucas, 89′), Mendoza (Newertton, 66′), Kaua Elias (Traore, 66′)
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