Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Olympique Lyonnais
Man-of-the-match Nabil Fekir scored a second-half equaliser in Kiev, which was enough to send Olympique Lyonnais into the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Both teams knew exactly what they had to do in this showdown: Shakhtar had to win and Lyon had to stop them. But the visitors did more than that and dominated the game, though they can feel unlucky not to have won.
Lyon were in this position after taking four points off Manchester City, and that fact alone suggests the French giants have plenty to offer in this competition.
The two teams swapped places in Group F as Shakhtar took a first-half lead and then back again when Fekir drew Lyon level. Neither team was up there in the higher reaches of the Champions League 2018 betting odds, but Lyon will provide stiff opposition in the next round.
Meanwhile, Shakhtar will have to be satisfied with Europa League football.
Highlights of the game
It was all Lyon in the opening exchanges with the lively Fekir at the centre of the action.
The France international is the subject of close attention from Chelsea and FC Bayern, and he showed his confidence is sky high when he unleashed a shot from all of 35 yards in the second minute, only to be saved by Andriy Pyatov.
Bertrand Traore then put Fekir in and his shot from the right side of the box whizzed just past the left-hand post. Traore worked well to give Fekir another chance, but the Frenchman’s shot was charged down.
Then, totally against the run of play, Shakhtar took the lead. Ismaily found striker Junior Moraes with some space in the centre of the penalty area, and Moraes made no mistake and fired the ball into the bottom right corner for his third goal of the competition.
Moraes likes playing against Lyon, having scored a brace in their 2-2 draw earlier in the competition.
Lyon continued to press, with Traore, Houssem Aouar and Memphis Depay all trying their luck but without success. And then on the cusp of halftime, Ferland Mendy came close with a left-footed effort after good work from Fekir. There was still time for both Traore and Fekir to force good saves from Pyatov.
Bruno Genesio must have been scratching his head and wondering how his team was going into the break 1-0 down.
Moraes had Shakhtar’s second shot of the night, early in the second half, and then Lyon went back on the attack. Fekir fed Mendy and he had his shot blocked, and then Marcelo headed wide from a Depay corner.
Finally, Lyon’s efforts paid dividends when they drew level on 65 minutes. Depay passed to Fekir in the middle of the penalty area and he fired an unstoppable shot into the top left corner.
Fekir tried to repay the compliment a minute later but this time, Depay’s long-range attempt was well saved.
Lyon continued to have better of the game, but couldn’t add to their lead and then had to withstand a late flurry of attacks from the hosts. Ismaily had an effort saved, and then Olarenwaju Kayode shot just wide from a Marlos corner.
But it was too little, too late as the Shakhtar fans were left to wonder what might have been.
Key statistics
Based on the SBOBET odds, the draw was the least likely result. Lyon’s Champions League 2018 results have been dominated by draws, this being the fifth from six games after the opening day win over Manchester City.
Lyon totally dominated the first half with 12 shots to Shakhtar’s one and four on target. The host’s one shot was worth a whole lot more though. Shakhtar had a late assault on the Lyon goal, but they can have no complaints as they still lost the total shot count by six to 17.
That’s just one defeat in ten European matches for Lyon, and the French team remains unbeaten against Shakhtar. This is a first defeat in six games for Paulo Fonseca’s Ukrainian champions.
What’s next?
Well, it’s back to the French domestic league for Olympique Lyonnais. The next game for the knockout-stage bound team is at home, against Thierry Henry’s Monaco who travel better than they play at their own ground.
Monaco are in big trouble, in the relegation zone of Ligue 1 and desperate for points to climb up the league.
Shakhtar can return to league matters in Ukraine where they are well on target for a third consecutive title under Fonseca. Oleksandriya is the next opponent, currently in third place with 11 wins from 18 games but a huge 17 points behind the league leaders.
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