Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Brest: Ukrainian champions stay in play-off contention

Shakhtar Donetsk kept their slim Champions League knock-out hopes alive as they secured a vital 2-0 home win over Brest on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian champions needed a victory to retain any ambition of making the top 24 in the league phase going into the final matchday next week.

And although a huge goal swing may still be required, goals from Kevin and Georgiy Sudakov ensured they continue to hold some interest in the competition.

Kevin pounced on a costly slip from Brest captain Brendan Chardonnet to race away and score, with goalkeeper Marco Bizot then making a series of impressive saves before conceding a penalty that Sudakov chipped into the net.

Shakhtar dug in for the second half and were able to keep Brest at bay, with the Ligue 1 outfit letting a huge opportunity to climb into the top eight slip through their grasp.

Brest must now get a result at home to Real Madrid if they are to improbably avoid the play-off round that Shakhtar are so desperate to reach.

Data debrief: A game of two halves... again

Shakhtar have now scored seven goals in the Champions League this season, and all seven have come in the first half of matches. In fact, they have now scored twice before half-time in three of their past four matches in the competition.

Capitalising on those strong early showings had not been quite so straightforward. Against PSV, Shakhtar led 2-0 until the 87th minute and still lost. They also lost to Bayern Munich despite scoring first.

This time, though, Shakhtar effectively changed their game after the break, and Brest had no answer. After having eight attempts and 63% of the possession in the first 45, the Ukrainian side went on the defensive following the restart, attempting only one further shot and having 30% of the ball but preserving their clean sheet.