SHAKHTAR Donetsk produced one of the biggest shocks of the UEFA Champions League today with a 1-0 victory over Barcelona, while Borussia Dortmund secured a second consecutive victory over Newcastle United.
In one of the early kick-offs today in their temporary home at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany, Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk ended a dismal home run to stun the five-time European champions.
Danylo Sikan struck five minutes before half-time to give Shakhtar their first home win in eight Champions League matches, condemning Barcelona to their first defeat in the competition this season.
With the result, Shakhtar remain third in Group H but moved to within three points of leaders Barcelona, who had won all of their previous three matches.
In Group F, Borussia Dortmund rose to the top of the table after easing past Newcastle United 2-0 at the Signa Iduna Park.
Niclas Fullkrug struck first in the 28th minute and Julian Brandt made sure of the win with the second goal 11 minutes from time, assisted by the Germany forward with Nigerian heritage, Karim Adeyemi.
It is Dortmund’s second victory over Newcastle in two weeks after the Germans snatched a 1-0 win at St James’ Park on October 25.
Newcastle United, who had drawn at AC Milan and thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in England before the back-to-back defeats to Dortmund, are third in the group with four points from four matches.
The Magpies could drop to the bottom spot if AC Milan beat PSG in the late kick-off tonight.
