Shakhtar stun dire Barca with deserved triumph

Shakhtar Donetsk’s Georgian defender #13 Giorgi Gocholeishvili (2R) and Barcelona’s Portuguese forward #14 Joao Felix (R) vie for the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Barcelona in Hamburg, northern Germany on November 7, 2023. (Photo by Axel Heimken / AFP)

Barcelona slumped to a 1-0 defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, spurning the chance to seal early qualification to the Champions League knock-out stages.

Danylo Sikan’s dipping header in the 40th minute secured Shakhtar a famous victory as Xavi Hernandez’s flat Spanish champions failed to trouble their Ukrainian opponents.

Barcelona still lead Group H ahead of Porto, second, hosting Royal Antwerp later on, with the Portuguese side able to pull alongside the Catalans on nine points with victory.

“It’s a tough defeat, we wanted to seal qualification, but it couldn’t be,” Barca midfielder Oriol Romeu told Movistar.

“We have to improve and give up fewer chances to our opponents, we have to look for solutions, because this is tricky for us.”

Romeu said his team had to look in the mirror after their disappointing display.

“Every defeat is a warning,” he added. “We have to be self-critical and see what we did wrong, to correct it quickly.”

After failing to progress from the group stage for two seasons running, Barcelona saw this clash as an opportunity to get the job done with two games to spare.

However Shakhtar, playing their home games in Hamburg because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, held their own from the start.

Barcelona missed big chances in the first match in October but this time Marino Pusic’s team shut down their uninspired visitors, who produced just one shot on target.

Xavi insisted his team’s