Celtic opened their Champions League account but will feel as though they deserved all three points as a resolute Shakhtar side held them to a 1-1 draw in Warsaw.
The visitors made all the running in the opening stages, and took the lead early on as Reo Hatate’s shot from the angle took a deflection off Bondarenko and bobbled over the onrushing Trubin.
Celtic are off to a dream start in Warsaw! 🍀
Ange Postecoglou’s side are rewarded for a positive opening, with Reo Hatate forcing the ball into the net.#UCL pic.twitter.com/m8dq02qNtJ
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 14, 2022
However, Shakhtar remained a threat on the break despite Celtic’s dominance, with Arsenal target Mykhailo Mudryk providing an emphatic finish beyond Joe Hart after being slipped in behind the Scottish side’s defence.
They thought that they had taken the lead just moments later too, only for Marian Shved to have his strike ruled out after the ball was ruled to have crossed the byline earlier in the move. Celtic were let off the hook, but it was the Ukrainians that finished the half the stronger.
The second half was far more measured and even, with both sides looking to play their way through the other in the early stages. As it wore on, Celtic came on stronger, with their substitutes injecting energy into their side and the home side looking increasingly tired.
Chance after chance came and went for the Scottish side, with Daizen Maeda and Giorgios Giakoumakis missing guilt-edged opportunities to hand their side a vital three points on the road.
Here’s how we rated the players on both sides.
📰 Table Of Contents
Shakhtar Donetsk
GK: Anatolii Trubin – 7
Unlucky with the opening goal but made a series of stops to ensure that he redeemed himself.
RB: Lucas Taylor – 6
Pinned back by the opposition, Taylor will be disappointed about the early goal conceded but otherwise gave a good account of himself.
CB: Valerii Bondar – 7
Made one very impressive block to deny Jota, and looked otherwise largely assured in the heart of defence.
CB: Mykola Matvienko – 7
The Ukrainian defender continued to underline his credentials with another strong outing for the hosts.
LB: Yukhym Konoplya – 5
Was given a torrid night by Jota, and was not able to get forward with his side largely operating on the break.
CDM: Taras Stepanenko – 7
Patrolled in front of the backline brilliantly, and kept the team ticking along with some tidy passing.
RM: Oleksandr Zubkov – 5
Was on the fringes as his side sat back, and was taken off after an hour. An evening to forget.
CM: Artem Bondarenko – 5
Will be credited with the own goal as Hatate’s poke flicked off the sliding midfielder. Otherwise okay without doing anything spectacular.
CM: Heorhii Sudakov – 7
Provided a perfectly weighted through ball for the equaliser, and worked tirelessly defensively.
LM: Mykhailo Mudryk – 7
Didn’t see a lot of the ball but looked a constant threat on the counter-attack and took his goal brilliantly to bring his side level.
ST: Marian Shved – 6
Saw one goal ruled out but other than that was not too much of a threat before being subbed after an hour.
Substitutes
Lassina Traore – 4
Hardly touched the ball after coming on.
Ivan Petryak – 5
Worked hard but offered nothing in attack.
Neven Durasek – 6
Offered energy but not much else.
Oleh Ocheretko – N/A
Only came on for the final ten minutes.
Celtic
GK: Joe Hart – 5
Didn’t have a great deal to do except to pick the ball out of the back of his net.
RB: Josip Juranovic – 6
Dealt with Mudryk well on the whole, save one key moment. Supported Jota with runs forward too in a good performance overall.
CB: Moritz Jenz – 5
Was lucky that one mistake didn’t prove costly when he gave the ball away, but was otherwise solid.
CB: Cameron Carter-Vickers – 6
Did not have too much to do but did it without fuss and was tidy in possession.
LB: Greg Taylor – 5
Looked like the weakest link in the backline and offered little going forwards.
CM: Matt O’Riley – 6
Saw two efforts saved and fired two more wide but was otherwise poor.
CM: Callum McGregor – 5
The Celtic skipper had a poor game by his standards, but continued to work hard throughout.
CM: Reo Hatate – 7
Began strongly and opened the scoring for his side, though he faded in the second half. Taken off on 68 minutes.
RW: Sead Haksabanovic – 5
His Celtic debut only lasted 45 minutes and he failed to make too much impression against a stubborn defence.
ST: Kyogo Furuhashi – 6
Didn’t have too much to feed on despite leading the line for the dominant side.
LW: Jota – 8
Showed flashes of brilliance without being able to find the finishing touch. Ensured that Konoplya had a torrid evening and was probably Celtic’s best player.
Substitutes
Daizen Maeda – 5
Saw an overhead kick and a stretched effort fly wide and will be disappointed not to have hit the target.
Aaron Mooy – 6
Offered energy in abundence, without really threatening from midfield.
David Turnbull – 6
Like Mooy, was energetic rather than clinical.
Giorgios Giakoumakis – 5
Wasted a pair of golden chances as he looked for the winner.
Liel Abada – N/A
Came on for the final five minutes.
Fan reaction:
Celtic been the better team played some terrific stuff again but Shakhtar look lethal on the counter attack. Tons of pace and break so quickly from a low block. Finely poised ⚽️
— Tam McManus (@The_Tman10) September 14, 2022
JUST ABOUT SQUEEZED A DRAW!
Shakhtar 1-1 Celtic FT
Think Shakhtar will take a point after so so many chances not taken by Celtic especially in the second half
The hosts were out of steam for most of it
Mudryk’s goal the highlight of the game
Roll on Real in Madrid in 3 weeks pic.twitter.com/CUy6Sw3T79
— Zorya Londonsk (@ZoryaLondonsk) September 14, 2022
Expert reaction:
Shakhtar have scored five Champions League goals this season and Mykhailo Mudryk has been involved in four of them. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qUF6mRQ7K4
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) September 14, 2022
Mykhailo Mudryk has been directly involved in more #UCL goals (4) than any other player so far this season:
👕 Apps: 2
⚽️ Goals: 2
🅰️ Assists: 2Mudryk on the Dancefloor. 🕺 pic.twitter.com/RzV6NLB35z
— William Hill (@WilliamHill) September 14, 2022
Mykhalo Mudryk’s half by numbers vs Celtic:
91% pass accuracy
2/3 ground duels won
1/1 long balls completed
1 shot
1 goalSmashed in the equaliser. 💥 pic.twitter.com/tB3Zeyq30u
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 14, 2022
