Dinamo stunned by Shakhtar's Brazilians
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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NK Dinamo Zagreb 1-3 FC Shakhtar Donetsk (agg: 1-5)
A trio of Brazilians scored as Shakhtar sealed their place in Thursday's group stage draw with a comfortable victory.
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Brazilian trio Luiz Adriano, Brandão and Willian all scored as FC Shakhtar Donetsk sealed their place in Thursday's UEFA Champions League group stage draw, beating NK Dinamo Zagreb 5-1 on aggregate.
Swift response
Trailing at the break to Luiz Adriano's 42nd-minute strike, the Croatian champions equalised on the night through Boško Balaban 12 minutes after the restart. But parity was fleeting for Dinamo as Brandão netted two minutes later. Willian then rubber-stamped the Ukrainian titleholders' berth among Europe's élite 20 minutes from time.
Defensive lapse
Despite a 2-0 first-leg deficit, Dinamo were measured in their initial approach, opting to wait for the game to open up and then take control. However, their ploy failed as Shakhtar broke the deadlock three minutes before half-time when Luiz Adriano seized upon a loose pass back towards his own goal by Mathias Chago and finished from inside the penalty area.
Dinamo deflated
The hosts received fresh hope after the interval when Balaban scored direct from his 20-metre free-kick, yet moments later Shakhtar were back in front after Vyacheslav Shevchuk's cross from the left was converted from close range by Brandão. Deflated, Dinamo had no reply and Shakhtar added a third on the 70-minute mark as Willian latched on to a ball from his fellow countryman Fernandinho and outpaced Mirko Hrgović to fire low into the bottom right-hand corner.