Shakhtar Donetsk secured a crucial 2-0 victory over Brest on Wednesday, dealing a blow to the French side’s ambitions of automatic qualification for the Champions League last-16.

Early goals from Kevin Macedo and Georgiy Sudakov powered the Ukrainian side to victory at their temporary home ground in Gelsenkirchen, keeping their hopes of a knockout spot alive.

Shakhtar coach Marino Pusic praised his team’s performance:

It was a fantastic game. We played a mature first half and controlled the second. My only regret is we didn’t score more.

Shakhtar struck first when Kevin pounced on a defensive error by Brest captain Brendan Chardonnet, racing through to score in the 18th minute. Sudakov doubled the lead in the 37th minute with a calm Panenka penalty after Brest goalkeeper Marco Bizot fouled Irakli Azarov in the box.

Despite Brest’s strong campaign in their debut Champions League season, they found it difficult to recover. Coach Eric Roy expressed disappointment:

It’s incomprehensible that we didn’t play at all in the first half-hour. The goals we conceded were avoidable, especially the first one—it felt like a joke.

Brest made changes in the second half, introducing top scorer Abdallah Sima, but Shakhtar’s defense, led by goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk, stood firm. A late effort from Oleksandr Zubkov was disallowed, denying Shakhtar a third goal.

Brest, already assured of at least a playoff spot with 13 points, remain in 11th place and must beat reigning champions Real Madrid in their final group-stage match to secure direct qualification.

Shakhtar’s second win of the campaign lifted them to 27th place with seven points, leaving them just one point off a knockout playoff position.

Channelstv