Barcelona were beaten by Shakhtar 1-0 at the Volkspark Stadium in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage.
Before the match, the Catalan club needed to win any result to be the first to advance to the round of 16, but the Ukrainian club succeeded in avenging the defeat of the first leg and surprised the Catalan club in the second leg.
But it seems that the knot of German territory continues for Barca, as the match was held in Hamburg after Shakhtar chose the Volkspark stadium as its European stadium because it was unable to play in Ukraine due to the conditions of the war there.
Shakhtar's only goal came through Danylo Sikan in the 40th minute, to revive the hosts' hopes of crossing the group stage, and deny Barca early qualification for the final price.
Xavi Hernandez has never made it past the group stage with Barcelona, in the last two appearances he finished third and moved to the Europa League, but his chances look great and different in the 2023-2024 edition.
In any case, Barca's defeat froze their tally at the ninth point and they are still at the top of the standings, but ignited the group after Shakhtar reached the sixth point with the same balance as Porto, while the Portuguese club can share the lead with the Blaugrana if they beat Royal Antwerp.
It is noteworthy that Barcelona will face the next round Porto at the Olympic Luis Combanes Stadium in a match that will be decisive after stumbling against Shakhtar.
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