The inexplicable mistake of a Shakhtar player with an empty net: is it the biggest mistake in history? | Sports

Shakhtar Donetsk needed to score points to hold on to the Champions League, which is why the match against Celtic Glasgow was seen as crucial to the fight with Leipzig – who beat Madrid – in their European aspirations. The Ukrainians could only draw, but they could have won were it not for Danylo Sikan’s big mistake.

20 minutes from the end of the match, Danylo Sikan finds himself with a ball to be thrown into an empty net, inexplicably sent to the side by the Ukrainian striker. Nobody knows what he tried to do, but the Shakhtar striker made a kind of controlled shot that was also taken by surprise. A mistake that was about to cost Shakhtar Donetsk dearly, as Danish midfielder Matthew O’Riley was about to give Celtic victory with a shot just missing in the 88th minute. If the Ukrainian manages to score, Igor Jovićević’s side could be just one point behind Lepizig. Of course they still have to beat the German team.

Mudryk keeps them alive

Shakhtar Donetsk maintained their chances of qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 after drawing 1-1 on Tuesday’s away match against Celtic in Glasgow with a sensational goal from striker Mykhailo Mudryk. Few players have had a greater impact in this group stage than the Ukrainian striker, who has taken just five games in Europe’s top competition to go from being a complete stranger to appearing on the agenda of some of the best teams.

Equipped with overflowing power and speed, Mudryk, at only 21 years old, is the player in charge of giving fang and verticality to the game of Shakhtar Donetsk, which despite having been deprived due to the war of the legion of Brazilians who have marked the style of the Ukrainian team in recent years it continues to give an exquisite treatment to the ball. A nice foot that at times deactivated Celtic’s tireless pressure work, which once again wasted more dedication than clarity when it came to generating clear scoring chances.

A circumstance that did not prevent the locals, who had to win to continue dreaming of reaching at least the Europa League, from taking the lead on the scoreboard with a goal in the 34th minute of the Greek striker Georgios Giakoumakis, who did not miss a ball shot in area to sign the 1-0. A result that seemed to definitively activate Mykhailo Mudryk, who three minutes from the break re-establishes the tie in one on one with Joe Hart, in which the veteran English goalkeeper won the match. Mudryk made no mistake on the next occasion, signing the 1-1 in the 58th minute with a gallop full of power that the Ukrainian striker resolved with a massive whiplash from outside the area against which Joe Hart could do nothing.