Champions League
Celtic 1-1 Shakhtar: Mudrik neutralizes Giakoumaki’s goal and keeps Ukraine at bay
Mykhailo Mudrik gave Shakhtar a 1-1 draw with goalscorer Giorgos Giakoumakis’ Celtic and the Ukrainians kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds of the Champions League alive, leaving Scotland fourth.
The great Mihajlo Mudric equalized with his goal Giorgos Giakoumakis and with that 1-1 opposite in Glasgow Celtic handed over to Shakhtar what he wanted before the last matchday. The Ukrainians climb out of Group 6 of the Champions League with another win over Leipzig and advance to the Europa League with a different result, while the Scots drop to last place.
The Scots played with their backs to the wall as they would end up bottom of the table if they won. The stress was also great for the Ukrainians, who depended on the result in Germany, so that the first few minutes were full of wrong decisions and lacked substance.
The home side took control over time and, above all, came into the opposing area with more demands. In one such instance, Giakoumakis capitalized on a counterattack in the 34th minute that put the ball in front of his feet in an advantageous position and scored Celtic’s first home goal in a group stage for the first time at the institution since October 2017.
A tackle by Joe Hart against Mykhailo Mundrick at the end of the 1st half put everyone in a good mood at Celtic Park, but at the beginning of the 2nd half the young Ukrainian star countered to make it 1-1.
Mudric could have been the creator of the winning goal minutes later when he passed to Danilo Cican who did something between a check and a shot in an empty net and missed the chance of the year.
The draw took place in Glasgow but it essentially looked like a loss for Celtic who finished 4th and a win for Shakhtar who secured the Europa League and against next week by ‘three points’ in Poland Leipzig moves into the round of 16.
CELTIC: Hart, Juranovic, Carter Vickers, Gentz, Taylor, O’Reilly, Hatate (84′ Turnbull), Abada (66′ Forrest), Haksabanovic (65′ Maenda), Jakumakis, Furuhashi (65′ Mowi)
SHAKHTAR: Trubin, Taylor, Bondar, Matvijenko, Mikhailichenko, Zubkov, Bondarenko, Stepanenko, Sudakov (Krivtsov 90), Mudric (Petriak 90), Traore (Sican 57)
The results of the 5th game
- Celtic – Shakhtar 1-1 (34′ Giakoumakis / 58′ Mudrik)
- Leipzig Real 3-2 (13′ Guardiol, 18′ Encuncu, 81′ Werner / 44′ Vinicius, 90+4′ Elfer Rodrigo)
The program of the 6th game
- 02/11 19:45 Real – Celtic
- 02/11 19:45 Shakhtar – Leipzig
Source: Sport 24
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.