46,729 fans in Hamburg celebrated FC Shakhtar Donetsk – but it was still not enough for a surprise in the emotional Champions League opener for the war-torn club from Ukraine. At the Volksparkstadion, Donetsk lost its first group game in the new premier class season 1:3 (1:3) against FC Porto.
The outstanding man at the traditional Portuguese club was Galeno with a brace (8th and 15th), and Mehdi Taremi (29th) also scored for the guests. Kevin Kelsy (13th) scored the interim equalizer for Donetsk.
Porto was the better, livelier team with more ideas right from the start, Donetsk were noticeably struggling with the nine-hour journey for the “home game” on the Elbe – and so they didn’t manage to win in their seventh encounter with Porto either. Nevertheless, the wave continued to pass through the arena.
“We know how the Germans support the Ukrainians, there are also many Ukrainians living here,” national player Taras Stepanenko said in a video message before the game: “Thank you for allowing us to continue the game of our lives. Thank you, Germany.”
Donetsk is a displaced club. There are 2,030 km between the city in Donbass and Hamburg, and Shakhtar on the Elbe is hosting the Champions League this season – because bombs are falling at home.
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 of the premier class, and Donetsk will also face FC Barcelona and Royal Antwerp from Belgium in Group H.