For Donetsk's Shakhtar, the start in the tournament among Europe's best clubs is already the 17th time in history. The miners qualified directly to the group stage as the top team of the previous Ukrainian championship as of February 24, 2022.

In the first round, the orange-and-black faced the fourth-placed team from last season's Bundesliga — Leipzig. Igor Jovicvic somewhat surprised with his starting lineup, fielding Konoply on the left in defense, Shved on the right in attack, and Zubkov upfront.

Photo uefa.com

Despite this, Shakhtar played evenly with the Germans from the start. On the 12th minute, Trubin positioned himself well and prevented Nkunku from scoring off Silva's pass. In response, shortly after, the miners scored themselves — Gulacsi made a mistake outside his penalty area, and Shved sent the ball into an empty net. Marjan's debut goal for Shakhtar came in only his second match.

Afterwards, Donetsk defended intelligently and did not allow their opponents to create sharp moments near their own goal. Meanwhile, there was a lack of precision in Leipzig's actions.

Photo uefa.com

After halftime, the Germans pressed Shakhtar to their own goal and eventually broke through the Ukrainians' defense — on the 57th minute, Simalkan managed to shoot into the near corner. However, the orange-and-blacks did not stop there with a response — Mudryk broke down the flank and passed to Shved, who scored his second goal thanks to a ricochet.

Photo uefa.com

Leipzig continued to control the ball, on the 70th minute Orban scored close to the post after a corner kick. However, Shakhtar launched a sharp counterattack and Sudakov's pass increased their guests' lead.

Moreover, at the 85th minute, Shakhtar scored their fourth goal. Konoply sent Mudryk down the flank, Mykhailo crossed to Traore, who put the ball in the net. In summary, Donetsk shocked the Germans on their own field and secured a victory for all of Ukraine — 4:1.

Photo uefa.com

In Shakhtar's lineup, players called up for the upcoming national team training camp participated in the match: Bondar, Matviyenko, Stepanshenko (substituted on 86th minute), Zubkov (substituted on 70th minute), Mudryk (goal, two assists, yellow card), Krivtsov (came on as a substitute at 86).

Champions League. Group Stage. Group F

1st round

«Leipzig» (Germany) — «Shakhtar» (Ukraine) — 1:4 (0:1)

Goals: Simalkan (57) — Shved (16, 58), Mudryk (76), Traore (85).

«Leipzig»: Gulacsi (c), Simalkan, Diallo, Orban, Halstenberg (Raum, 46), Soboslay, Laimer (Gaidar, 82), Schlegel (Henricks, 70), Nkunku, Silva, Werner (Forsberg, 70).

Substitutes: Blaswich, Guardiola, Novoa, Kampf.

Captain: Domenico Tedesco.

«Shakhtar»: Trubin, Taylor, Bondar, Matviyenko, Konoply, Stepanshenko (c) (Krivtsov, 86), Bondarenko (Jurasek, 62), Sudakov, Shved (Petryak, 62), Zubkov (Traore, 70), Mudryk.

Substitutes: Shevchenko, Pyatov, Sikanchuk, Mykhailichenko, Kryskiv, Topalov, Ocheretnyk, Kozik.

Captain: Igor Jovicvic.

Referee: Joao Pinheiro (Portugal).

Yellow cards: Simalkan (61) — Konoply (50), Trubin (60), Mudryk (61), Jovicvic (75, not on the field), Jurasek (90).

September 6. Leipzig. "Red Bull Arena".

«Celtic» (Scotland) — «Real Madrid» (Spain) — 0:3 (0:0)

2nd round

September 14, 2022

«Shakhtar» — «Celtic» (19.45)

«Real Madrid» — «Leipzig» (22.00)