Shakhtar Donetsk continued its fairytale run in the Champions League by beating Antwerp 1-0 in Group H on Wednesday (AEDT).
The Ukrainian club again played its ‘home’ game in Hamburg because of the Russian invasion of its country.
The war has meant many top players moved on but despite the turmoil Shakhtar (three wins, two losses) remains in the hunt for a place in the knockout stages of the glamour competition.
Watch football’s biggest clubs and best players in the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League, streaming ad free, live and exclusive on Stan Sport
Mykola Matviyenko’s diving header from a free kick in the 12th minute proved the difference.
“Absolutely huge winners,” Mark Langdon said on Stan Sport.
“It was a deserved win for Shakhtar and at least guarantees them Europa League, which they definitely would have settled for when the draw was made.”
READ MORE: Maxwell equals insane record to rescue Aussies
READ MORE: Warner no certainty for fairytale Test farewell
READ MORE: Ponga sets sights on regaining Maroons jersey
Barcelona later beat Porto 2-1 to go top of the group on 12 points with Porto and Shakhtar both on nine.
Shakhtar has been a threat from set pieces in all of its group stage games so far and did it again as Matviyenko dived forward to head in off Oleksandr Zubkov’s wide free kick.
Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk made some crucial saves from first Michel-Ange Balikwisha and later Arbnor Muja to keep his team in the lead.
Antwerp goalkeeper Jean Butez twice tipped shots onto the crossbar, with an effort from Irakli Azarovi in the 55th minute and another from captain Taras Stepanenko’s seven minutes after that.
Deep into stoppage time, experienced defender Toby Alderweireld had a chance to salvage what would have been Antwerp’s first point of the campaign.
His shot from close range was parried by Riznyk, who then also saved an Alderweireld header with the last touch of the game.
The referee sent off Antwerp winger Muja after the final whistle following a confrontation between players from both teams.
Meanwhile, substitute Ciro Immobile scored twice in the final 10 minutes and Lazio beat Celtic 2-0 to move atop Group E.
Gustav Isaksen set up both goals, first with a deflected shot that wound its way toward Immobile, who pounded it into the net from close range in the 82nd minute.
https://twitter.com/StanSportFC/status/1729585247304523920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Three minutes later, Isaksen floated in a ball over the top and Immobile sprinted past one defender and spun around another before slotting in.
Lazio will advance if Atletico Madrid beats Feyenoord later.
Celtic is now assured of finishing last in Group E.