HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Barcelona collapsed with a 1-0 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, squandering a prize to seal an early spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
A header from Danylo Sikan in the 40th minute secured Shakhtar a remarkable victory, while Xavi Hernandez’s Spanish champions failed against their Ukrainian opponents.
Barcelona remain top-ranked in Group H ahead of second-placed Porto and then host Royal Antwerp, with the Portuguese side rivaling the Catalan giants on nine points with a win.
“We can see that we are in a kind of footballing stagnation, we want to make a reset,” Xavi said.
“We played a game, we have to admit that. “
Xavi said his team had missed an opportunity to improve.
“After two years without qualifying for the round of 16, it’s a missed opportunity,” he continued.
“This is the most inopportune time. There are a lot of demands (on us). I don’t think we could fail and we failed. “
After failing to drop below the level for two consecutive seasons, Barcelona saw this clash as an opportunity to get the job done with two rounds remaining.
However, Shakhtar, who played at home in Hamburg for the clash between Russia and Ukraine, kept company from the start.
Barcelona squandered great opportunities in the teams’ first match in October, but this time Marino Pusic’s team silenced the Spanish champions, who only managed one shot on goal.
Xavi insisted his side’s performance in Saturday’s narrow 1-0 league win over Real Sociedad was unacceptable, despite the brilliant result, but his side ignored the coach’s words.
Shakhtar forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen to make the first save of the match, and the German goalkeeper turned away Mykola Matviyenko near the post after receiving Joao Cancelo.
Ilkay Gundogan and Raphinha fired from long range as Barca struggled to break through Shakhtar’s defence, with veteran striker Robert Lewandowski unfortunately switched off on his return to Germany.
The former Bayern Munich striker has scored in any of his last six games for Barca, marking his worst goalscoring streak in more than a decade.
Sliced open
The hosts took the lead a few minutes before the break, opening the visitors’ scoring softly when Giorgi Gocholeishvili took advantage of Barcelona left-back Marcos Alonso being far from his position.
The centre-back crossed for Sikan, who beat Andreas Christensen in the air and headed it out of the reach of Ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen rescued Gocholeishvili early in the second half as Shakhtar picked up where they left off.
Just before the hour mark, Xavi sprang into action, sending in sprinters Alejandro Balde and Lamine Yamal, as well as Pedri, to shake up his team’s lifeless display.
Barca took a step forward but were still not bright enough, while Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk enjoyed a quiet night.
“Not so long ago we played very intelligent football, it’s an intellectual thing,” Xavi said.
Shakhtar’s young Brazilian winger Newerton scored a fine second goal in the final minutes, but it was flagged for offside – it would have been a good way to cap off a great night for the Pusic side.
Barcelona had seven minutes of extra time to work but couldn’t make a breakthrough, and Felix unsuccessfully took a penalty after being brought down on the edge of the box.
The third-placed Ukrainian champions celebrated full time with joy and are now just three points behind Barcelona, who host Porto in their next Champions League match on November 28.
“We’re taking it one step at a time and staying humble,” said Pusic, proud of his team’s defensive effort.
“We like to attack and tonight we had a lot of moments, but the organisation of the game comes first.
“If you fit in well at this level, you don’t have much chance of winning. “
Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu said he and his teammates had to take a look after their disappointing performance.
“Every defeat is a warning,” he told Movistar.
“We want to be self-critical and see what we did wrong, so we can correct it quickly. “