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Shakhtar deal blow to Brest's Champions League last-16 ambitions

football22 January 2025 20:00| © AFP
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Shakhtar Donetsk eased to a 2-0 win against Brest in the Champions League on Wednesday, denting the high-flying French side's hopes of earning an automatic spot in the last-16.

First-half goals from Brazilian forward Kevin and Georgiy Sudakov proved the difference as the Ukrainian side won at their adopted home ground in Germany to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knock-outs.

Brest were already assured of a place in at least the play-off round for the last-16 stage before kick-off thanks to their tally of 13 points.

However, just their second defeat in seven outings in Europe this term left them in 11th place.

Brest can still ensure direct qualification to the round of 16 with a top-eight finish, but will have to beat reigning champions Real Madrid at home next week to do so.

For Shakhtar, the victory moved them provisionally to within one point of a knock-out play-off spot.

The first big chance of the encounter fell to the Ukrainians as Marlon burst onto a cut-back but saw his attempted backheel flash narrowly wide.

Brest have been one of the revelations of the tournament in their debut season in the Champions League.

Going into the penultimate round of games, Eric Roy's side sat above powerhouses such as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City and compatriots Paris Saint-Germain, but it was their unfancied opponents who took the lead.

Brest centre-half Brendan Chardonnet took a heavy touch from an agricultural clearance, which allowed Kevin to steal the ball before racing through and finishing one-on-one with 18 minutes gone.

Another long ball from deep presented Shakhtar with a golden chance to double their lead on the half-hour, Eguinaldo's effort beating Marco Bizot but trickling the wrong side of the far post.

Sudakov did then get a deserved second for Shakhtar seven minutes later with a Panenka penalty, won after Bizot took out Irakli Azarov as he ran onto the Ukrainian playmaker's inch-perfect through ball.

Brest searched for a way back into the match in the second period but struggled to break down Shakhtar's rearguard, with goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk swift off his line to deal with any balls into the box.

Coach Roy made a triple change on the hour, including sending on the club's topscorer this season Abdallah Sima.

However, Shakhtar held firm and Oleksandr Zubkov then looked to have added a third deep in injury time, but the goal was disallowed for a foul earlier in the build-up.

The Ukrainian champions' second win of the campaign moved them up to 27th place in the standings on seven points.

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