On 7 November, in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage match, Shakhtar Donetsk won a narrow 1-0 victory over Catalan side Barcelona.
Marino Pušić. Photo: shakhtar.comThis match was nominally a home game for Donetsk and took place in the German city of Hamburg. Ukrainian striker Danilo Sikan scored for Shakhtar in the 40th minute of the match.
The Spanish press criticised Barcelona for the defeat of Shakhtar, noting the Catalan team's poor offensive performance.
Sport.es
"Barca could not find the right key to create danger against Shakhtar, who pressed but failed to create any clear-cut chances. For the second time this season, the team failed to score, and Xavi himself acknowledged in the press room the football and emotional slump his team is experiencing."
AS
"The worst part was not the result, which is terrible but fixable and doesn't break anything permanently, but shows that the European wound is still open. The worst thing was to see that Barcelona did not exceed expectations.
Shakhtar didn't outplay Barcelona, but the Pitmen looked better on the pitch than the Catalans. The final proof that Pušić's team dominated the game and Xavi's team was a chaser was the 1-0 scoreline in favour of the home side."
Lesportiu
"Barcelona is in a footballing slump. Yesterday's performance at the Volksparkstadion was probably one of the worst performances of this campaign.
Everything is explained by the fact that Barcelona didn't take a shot on goal during the entire match against an opponent who plays in the Ukrainian league, has no big names and changed coaches only two weeks ago."
Mundo Deportivo
"Wednesday's defeat was a blow to the players' confidence, a sporting slump that Javi Hernandez acknowledged, but from an economic point of view it also hurt the board, at least those in charge of the numbers and balance sheet, and that could increase tensions."
Marca
"The match against Shakhtar was a wake-up call for Barcelona. Defeat was not part of any scenario, as everyone was confident that the team would make it to the last 16. The biggest problem is that yesterday's defeat is not an isolated incident. It came after the defeat in the Clasico and the bad game the team played in San Sebastian, despite the victory. There are players who have lost a lot of their level."
