Already eliminated going into the final game of the group stage, Shakhtar concedes a last-gasp goal to end its campaign without a win in six games.
Shakhtar Donetsk ended its Champions League the same way it started it – with a surprising and disappointing result against Champions League newcomers Sheriff Tiraspol.
Dominating the fixture for large portions of the game at Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium, the itinerant team from Donetsk couldn’t find a second marker to finish off the upstart squad from Transnistria after going up 1-0 on a pretty first half marker by Fernando.
The team was made to pay on a goal by Sheriff’s Boban Nikolov in the 90+3 minute.
Shakhtar famously fell 2-0 to Sheriff in the first game of the Group Stage, giving the Tiraspol side its first-ever Champions League victory.
Shakhtar limped to a 0-4-2 record in a group that also included European heavyweights Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
“We had to kill this game in the first half”, said Shakhtar defender Serhiy Kryvtsov after the game. “In these kinds of games, the second goal is always decisive. This is the only thing we couldn’t do tonight – score our second goal. In the end, we missed so many chances while Sheriff scored from their only opportunity.”
Shakhtar continues to call Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium home due to the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
With European competitions over for the season, Shakhtar will now focus on regaining the Ukrainian Premiere League title for the first time since 2020. The team is currently tied with Dynamo Kyiv for first place with a 14-2-1 record after 17 of 30 games.
Shakhtar’s next game is at Oleksandria on 11 December – its final game before the winter break.
