Fourth game, first defeat: Barcelona with national team captain Ilkay Gündogan and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen completely surprisingly lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
In Hamburg, Barca suffered a deserved 0-1 (0-1) and missed the chance to be the first team to qualify for the round of 16. Instead, Donetsk won a “home game” in the premier class for the first time in three years.
Attacker Danylo Sikan (40th) scored with a header in front of 49,147 spectators for the Ukrainians, who now have six points in their account and can hope for the knockout phase. Barca initially remained leaders with nine points, FC Porto only played against Royal Antwerp in the evening. Donetsk last won “at home” on December 1, 2020 – 2-0 against Real Madrid in Kiev.
Barcelona had a very difficult time against Donetsk, the hosts were well organized and repeatedly presented Xavi’s team with challenges. Ter Stegen had to intervene more often than he would have liked. Star attacker Robert Lewandowski returned to the Champions League after his ankle injury, but the Pole, like his colleagues, remained pale. And so in the end there was only the second competitive defeat of the season for the Catalans.
Donetsk will play its home games in the premier class in Hamburg this season, and the game against Royal Antwerp from Belgium is scheduled for November 28th on the Elbe.
The club has not played in Donetsk on the European stage since 2014; after the Russian attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the club moved to Warsaw in the preseason. This year Hamburg is the “home”.