Shakhtar hand dull Barcelona first UCL defeat of the season

Barcelona's string of insipid performances in the Champions League has eventually been punished, as Shakhtar Donetsk handed the Blaugrana their first loss of the campaign.

Xavi Hernandez's side travelled to Hamburg to face Shakhtar, as the war against Russia makes it impossible to play football in Ukraine. The Donetsk team made Germany home, however, as they rose to the occasion and defeated the group's biggest villain.

Barcelona boss Xavi opted to give rest to Alejandro Balde and Joao Felix, and both players started from the bench, replaced by Marus Alonso and Ferran Torres in the starting lineup.

The Blaugrana struggled to break their hosts down, as they kept a lot of sterile possession while struggling to create chances. Shakhtar, on the other hand, looked threatening in transition and were also able to peg the visitors back with spells of possession of their own.

It was Marino Pusic’s side that found the breakthrough when Danylo Sikan received a cross from Giorgi Gocholeishvili. The Ukrainian forward, in turn, headed the ball past Marc André Ter Stegen.

Xavi made four chances in one fell swoop in the second half in an attempt to bolster his team’s outlook. Felix, Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde all came on for Alonso, Ferran, Raphinha and Oriol Romeu.

The changes led to more dominance for Barcelona but did not change their fortunes in front of goal.