Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk Defy Odds To Thrash RB Leipzig In Champions League

Shakhtar Donetsk recorded a remarkable 4-1 win at RB Leipzig in their Champions League Group F opener on Tuesday.

Former Celtic winger Marian Shved scored twice for Shakhtar in Germany, either side of a Mohamed Simakan equalizer for Leipzig, before Mykhailo Mudryk and Lassina Traore added late goals.

The game saw Shakhtar become the first Ukrainian team to play in the Champions League since the country was invaded by Russia in February.

But war has impacted Shakhtar for much longer than the last seven months. Shakhtar have not been able to play games at their home stadium, the Donbass Arena, since 2014 due to conflict in the region.

Shakhtar Donetsk beat RB Leipzig 4-1 at Red Bull Arena

IMAGO/opokupix

Shakhtar play their domestic home games in Kyiv but their home for this season's Champions League is the Stadion Wojska Polskiego in Warsaw, Poland.

Most of Shakhtar's non-Ukrainian players - including David Neres, Dodo and Marlon Solomon - left the club this summer.

Shakhtar started Tuesday's game as big underdogs against the German Cup winners but they defied the odds in style.

"I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams such a game with four goals for us," Shakhtar captain Taras Stepanenko told reporters, as quoted by Yahoo. "But we played well and I feel we deserved that result tonight.

Shakhtar no.6 and captain Taras Stepanenko pictured battling for a header during his side's 4-1 win

IMAGO/opokupix

"I have been with the club for over a decade. This is a new team, but many of these young players are from the Shakhtar academy, so they have the Shakhtar spirit and this really helps us a lot.

"We are a tight group and have a lot of spirit. When I saw the draw, I immediately knew it was going to be a tough group, but I also knew we have a good team and should be able to get results.

"We want to progress, but with young players sometimes you are lacking consistency."