First CL “home win” since 2020
Donetsk shocks FC Barcelona in Hamburg’s Volkspark
November 7th, 2023, 9:20 p.m
Shakhtar Donetsk hasn’t played in the European Cup in Donetsk since 2014, and since the Russian invasion they haven’t played in Ukraine either. In Hamburg, Donetsk is now duping FC Barcelona – and is celebrating its first Champions League “home win” since a triumph over Real Madrid.
In its temporary European Cup home of Hamburg, Shakhtar Donetsk really annoyed FC Barcelona with the German national players İlkay Gündoğan and Marc-André ter Stegen. In their second guest appearance at the Volksparkstadion, the Ukrainian football club prevented the Spanish champions from reaching the round of 16 of the Champions League early with a deserved 1-0 (1-0). Instead, Donetsk won a “home game” in the premier class for the first time in three years. Shakhtar last won “at home” on December 1, 2020 – 2-0 against Real Madrid in Kiev.
In front of almost 50,000 spectators, ex-Rostock professional Danylo Sikan (40th minute) scored the winning goal for the home team, whose surprising success prevented the Catalans from winning their fourth game in the fourth game of the group phase. In doing so, Shakhtar also preserved its own chances of progressing. Barcelona, on the other hand, looked sluggish defensively and lacked clear scoring chances up front. Star attacker Robert Lewandowski returned to the Champions League after his ankle injury, but the Pole, like his colleagues, remained pale.
Under the interested looks of some players from the second division club Hamburger SV, the courageous Ukrainians got into the game better and better in their temporary European Cup home. The home team used a lot of long balls. Sikan scored with a header to make it 1-0. Overall, the Barça defense seemed anything but stable. After 60 minutes, coach Xavi reacted and brought four new players into the game. But substitute Portuguese star João Félix also missed the equalizer. And so in the end there was only the second competitive defeat of the season for the Catalans.
The Ukrainian club has not played in Donetsk on the European stage since 2014; after the Russian attack on February 24, 2022, they moved to Warsaw in the preseason. This year Hamburg is the “home”.
Second division club Hamburger SV takes over the entire organizational implementation of the match days for the club. In the first game in September, the Ukrainians suffered a 3-1 defeat against Portuguese club FC Porto, and in the first leg they lost 2-1 in Barcelona. The third and final group game will take place in Hamburg against Belgian club Royal Antwerp on November 28th. Shakhtar has to finish away in Porto.