Losing 0-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk on matchday four of Group H in the Champions League, Barcelona ended their winning streak and missed the opportunity to secure an early spot in the knockout stage.
The difference at the Volkspark Stadium, a neutral venue in Hamburg, Germany, used by Shakhtar to play European competitions, came in the 40th minute. Giorgi Gocholeishvili sprinted down the right wing and delivered a cross into the penalty area, where Danylo Sikan escaped the marking of Andreas Christensen to head the ball into the far corner, beyond the reach of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
In the other match of Group H, Porto defeated Antwerp 2-0 at home with goals from Evanilson and Pepe. With these results, Barcelona and Porto share the top spot with nine points, while Shakhtar has six points, and Antwerp has yet to earn any points.
The defeat against Shakhtar brings back the haunting possibility of being eliminated in the group stage for Barcelona. Under Xavi’s management, they must win against Porto at home in the next match on November 28 to secure an early ticket to the next round and avoid pressure when they visit Antwerp in the final game on December 13.
In the last two Champions League seasons, Barcelona was eliminated in the group stage. In the 2021-2022 season, the Catalan club finished third in the group and had to compete in the Europa League, where they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt with an aggregate score of 3-4 in the quarter-finals. A similar scenario occurred in the previous season when Barcelona finished third in the group and was defeated by Manchester United 3-4 in the Europa League play-offs.
With the opportunity to advance early in two rounds, Barcelona was lackluster at the Volkspark Stadium. In the first half, the visitors controlled the ball 60% of the time but managed only three off-target shots. This marked the seventh time under Xavi’s management that Barcelona failed to score a goal in the first half in any competition. They also had only five touches inside the opponent’s penalty area, the lowest figure under Xavi.
Barcelona’s notable attacking efforts were limited to inaccurate long-range shots by Ilkay Gundogan and Raphinha, as well as a situation where Robert Lewandowski collided with goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk inside the penalty area, but the referee did not award a penalty.
In the 59th minute, already trailing, Xavi made four consecutive substitutions, bringing on Pedri, Joao Felix, Lamine Yamal, and Alejandro Balde, but it did not help Barcelona improve their performance. In the second half, the visitors managed only one shot on target—a close-range header by Gavi, which was blocked by two Shakhtar players and didn’t trouble Riznyk in the 61st minute.
On the other hand, Shakhtar could have won by a more significant margin if they had capitalized on their chances. In the 48th minute, Gocholeishvili eluded Marcos Alonso and took a shot from a narrow angle that didn’t beat Ter Stegen. About 10 minutes later, Danylo Sikan attempted a similar shot, but it still didn’t bypass the Barcelona goalkeeper. In the 87th minute, from an attack on the left side, Newerton cut inside the penalty area and scored a goal for the home team, but it was disallowed for offside.
Barcelona continues its recent decline with two losses in its last three matches across all competitions, compared to just one defeat in the previous 15 games. Lewandowski, on the other hand, has gone scoreless in his last six matches across all competitions, marking his longest goal drought since failing to score in 10 consecutive games while playing for Dortmund from December 2010 to February 2011.
Starting Lineups:
Shakhtar Donetsk: Riznyk, Gocholeishvili, Bondar, Rakitskiy, Matviyenko, Stepanenko (Nazaryna 72), Zubkov, Kryskiv, Sudakov, Newerton (Shved 90), Sikan (Kelsy 62).
Barca: Ter Stegen, Cancelo, Araujo, Christensen, Alonso (Balde 59), Gundogan, Romeu (Pedri 59), Gavi (Lopez 81), Raphinha (Yamal 59), Lewandowski, Ferran Torres (Felix 59).
