Shakhtar Donetsk fight back to stun AEK Athens at Stamford Bridge
Key takeaways
- Shakhtar Donetsk beat AEK Athens 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on October 14.
- AEK scored first, but Shakhtar scored three goals to win the game.
- Stamford Bridge is Shakhtar's temporary home for European games this season.
Shakhtar Donetsk beat AEK Athens 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, October 14. Shakhtar were the home team, so they picked the ground for the game. The Champions League is the top club contest in Europe. The win gives Shakhtar four points from two games this season.
Their first game ended in a draw with PSV Eindhoven.
What happened
This was match day two of the league phase. The league phase is the first stage of the Champions League. AEK Athens are from Greece.
Shakhtar come from the east of Ukraine. AEK scored first in the game. Lovro Majer put the Greek side ahead in the 28th minute.
Shakhtar hit back fast after that early blow. Pedrinho scored from the penalty spot six minutes later. A penalty is a free shot at goal after a foul.
The score was now 1-1, and the game was wide open. Shakhtar pushed hard for a second goal. Vinicius Tobias found the net with about ten minutes left.
He scored from a hard spot near the edge. Then substitute Gleiker Mendoza made the game safe. A substitute is a player who comes on during the game.
Mendoza cut in from the left and smashed the ball home. The final score was Shakhtar 3, AEK 1.
About 29,000 fans watched the game at the ground. Thousands of Shakhtar fans came to back their team. Many waved blue and yellow flags, the colors of Ukraine.
The crowd was about 11,000 short of a full ground. Fans told AFP the night felt special.
Why it matters
This win means more than three points for Shakhtar. They are the champions of Ukraine. Shakhtar won the UEFA Cup in 2009. This win showed they can still fight at the top level.
But the club cannot play at home in Ukraine right now. Shakhtar left their own ground, Donbas Arena, in 2014. Donetsk is a city in the east of Ukraine. Pro-Russia separatists had seized control of the city of Donetsk.
Since then, the team has played home games in other places. They played in other parts of Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Slovenia. Security worries linked to the war in Ukraine drove each move.
Now London is their base for European games this season. Stamford Bridge is the ground of Chelsea, a London club. Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League last season.
The Premier League is the top league in England. That is why they have no European games this season. Chelsea have no European games this season, so the ground was free.
Shakhtar thanked Chelsea for making the ground open to them. The two clubs will work close to keep match days safe. The club had also looked at Brentford's ground.
At home in Ukraine, the team plays at Lviv Arena. That ground is about 600 miles from Donetsk. The match was played nearly 1,700 miles from Donetsk.
That is a long trip for a so-called home game. A home game is one where your team picks the ground.
London made sense for one more reason. Many Ukrainians now live in Britain. The Ukrainian embassy in London says Britain has taken in 265,000 Ukrainians since 2022. The 2021 census counts about 19,000 Ukraine-born people in London.
Club chief Sergei Palkin said the games keep Ukraine's struggles in view. Read our report on Arsenal against Lille in the same contest.
What happens next
Shakhtar have three more home games at Stamford Bridge. In all, the club will play four home games at the Bridge. The first of those four is now done.
They face Sporting CP on November 3. Then they play Fenerbahce on November 25. The last home game is against Real Madrid on January 27. Each game is a chance to add more points. The team will want a strong finish in the first stage. Read our report on Aston Villa against Fenerbahce for more on that club.
In other Champions League news, read our report on Atletico against Manchester United.
Shakhtar will keep making London feel like home. The fans, the flags, and the goals will all be back. In the United States, San Diego FC also fought back late to draw 3-3. If the team keeps winning, the story will only grow.
For now, one night in London has given them a lift.
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