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Champions League | Group Stage
Sep 17, 2013 at 7.45pm UK
 
Shakhtar Donetsk

0-2

FT(HT: 0-0)
Teixeira (65', 87')

Live Commentary: Real Sociedad 0-2 Shakhtar Donetsk - as it happened

Live commentary from Real Sociedad's Champions League group game against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Estadio Anoeta.
2

An Alex Teixeira brace gave Shakhtar Donetsk a winning start to their Champions League campaign, beating Real Sociedad 2-0 this evening.

The Ukrainian champions failed to trouble the home side's defence in the opening 45 minutes, but took the lead mid-way through the second half.

The Brazilian added his second late on the seal the win, which leaves Shakhtar second in group A.

Read how all the action unfolded below:


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Good evening. It's around an hour until kickoff at the Estadio Anoeta, where Real Sociedad will be hosting a Champions League game for the first time in a decade, with Shakhtar Donetsk the visitors.

We're still waiting for both teams to confirm their lineups for tonight's match, but in the meantime, let's look at the clubs' recent history in Europe.

This will be the Spanish side's first appearance in a European competition since 2003-04, when they made the round of 16 in the Champions League. Prior to that, they were regulars in the UEFA Cup in the 1980s and early '90s.

The Ukrainians have made Europe's premier club competition since 2000. Their best performance came in the 2010-11 season, when they made the quarter-finals, while last season saw them make the round of 16, losing to eventual finallists Borussia Dortmund.

Right then, the team news is out, let's take a looks at tonight's lineups.

REAL SOCIEDAD STARTING XI: Bravo, Gonzalez, Estrada, de la Bella, Bergara, Martinez, Prieto, Pardo, Griezmann, Seferovic, Vela

SHAKHTAR DONETSK STARTING XI: Pyatov, Kucher, Shevchuk, Rakitskiy, Hubschman, Fernando, Costa, Teixeira, Srna, Adriano, Taison

REAL SOCIEDAD SUBSTITUTES: Zubikarai, Ansotegi, Angel, Ros, Granero, Agirretxe, Castro

SHAKHTAR DONETSK SUBSTITUTES: Bernard, Kanibolotskiy, Volovyk, Kryvtsov, Stepaneko, Fred, Eduardo

Unsurprisingly, Sociedad's top scorer so far this season, Carlos Vela starts up front, alongside Haris Seferovic. Meanwhile, last season's leading striker Imanol Agirrexte, who missed the start of the season with a leg muscle injury, is on the bench.

Striker Luiz Adriano will lead the Shakhtar attack, with fellow Brazilians Taison and Alex Teixeira behind him in midfield.

Ahead of tonight's match, Donetsk midfielder Fred, who is on the bench tonight, told the team's website: "Since my childhood I have dreamed of being a great football player. Now I play for a strong European team against strong rivals. So you could say my dream is coming true. The upcoming game in Spain will be tough, especially as we are playing away. I think that Spanish football is of a very high standard which is still growing and we will need to work very hard to beat them."

In his pre-match press conference, Sociedad coach Jagoba Arrasate said: "We know we're in a group that's difficult but attractive at the same time. This game is very important, we're playing at home in what is a short group stage and we want to play a good match. Shakhtar's experience in Europe stands out. They're used to competing in the Champions League, they have a lot of quality and they're not afraid to play their game. They are team who go out to win games, with a defined style of play and they're not going to change. We'll be trying to impose our own style and it should be an open and attractive game."

The Spaniards have lost just one of their last six games, losing to Atletico Madrid at the start of the month. However, the visitors are without a win in their last three matches. Their last victory came against Metalurh Zaporizhya in the Ukrainian Premier League almost a month ago. Since then they've lost twice, and drawn with Metalist Kharkiv.

The Ukrainians secured their place in this season's competition by winning their national league for the eighth time in their history. Sociedad's fourth-placed finish in La Liga ensured them a spot in this year's tournament, but they had to beat Lyon in a qualifier last month.

Shakhtar and Sociedad share a group with Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen who meet at Old Trafford this evening. You can follow live commentary from that match too, as well as tonight's other Champions League clashes.

The officials for tonight's game come from Romania. Ovidiu Hategan, who has year's worth of experience as a FIFA referee will take charge in the middle.

WEATHER WATCH! It's been raining in San Sebastian today, making the Estadio Anoeta pitch, and the surrounding athletics track, rather damp. It's currently 17C at the ground.

As kickoff nears, it's time to make a prediction. Given Donetsk superior experience in this competition, they are understandably the favourites tonight, but Sociedad showed that they are capable during their win over Lyon to reach the group stages, and have an impressive attack. I can see this being a 2-2 draw.

The players are heading out of the tunnel ready for tonight's match.

The team's exchange handshakes before getting themselves into formation for the start of tonight's clash. Kickoff is just moments away now.

Shakhtar get the game underway.

It's a bit of a nervy start by both sides as neither are able to keep the ball. Sociedad look like the more positive side early on, but are unable to find a way through the visiting back four, while the Ukrainian champions are happy to try and keep the ball in midfield.

CHANCE! Antoine Griezmann has the first shot of the game, attempting to drill the ball in from the left-hand side of the penalty area. However, the wet pitch doesn't help his cause, as the ball seems to lose all it's pace as it bounces in front of Pyatov, who is able to palm the ball away before Srna clears. It's been a bright start by the Spanish side.

Griezmann is on the attack again, this time bringing the ball out from the back all the way to the edge of the Shakhtar penalty box. He looks to find Carlos Vela, but the Mexican tangles with Taison, giving the visitors a free kick.

CHANCE! Fernando has the first sight at goal for the visitors, but his effort from point-blank range is stopped by Bravo in the Sociedad goal.

Shakhtar are still struggling with passing on the wet pitch, so turn to the long ball. A brilliant ball forward finds Fernando on the edge of the box. He pulls it back for Douglas Costa, but the home side eventually manage to get the ball away.

The home side continue to apply pressure inside the Ukrainians' half, but the visitors are holding strong at the back. Donetsk go on the counter attack, but Estrada manages to block an attempted cross into the box.

CHANCE! A dangerous ball into the box almost falls to Pardo, but Pyatov just manages to get to it in time. With the keeper off his line, that would surely have been an easy finish for the midfielder had he been able to reach it.

BOOKING! Teixeira goes down on the edge of the box, claiming that Bergara tripped him, but replays show that he simply slipped, so the referee books him for simulation.

Shakhtar are starting to look more lively, and quickly go on the attack again. Taison looks to be in a strong position as the ball is fired into the final third, but the Brazilian is flagged for offside.

The Ukrainians are really struggling with Sociedad's offside trap at the moment. As they try the long ball again, Costa is penalised for drifting offside. It's the third time this evening that the assistant has had to raise his flag for offside against a Shakhtar player.

Donetsk are seeing all the ball at the moment, but just can't get it right in the final third. Srna is penalised for a hand ball on the edge of the box, before a poor attempt at a cross by Hubschman is easily taken by Bravo, who makes his 200th appearance for Sociedad this evening.

CHANCES! Vela attempts to drill the ball in from the edge of the box, but Rakitskiy manages to deflect it wide, giving the home side a corner. Pardo delivers it into the box, but Prieto can't keep his shot on target.

CHANCE! A poor goal kick from Pyatov only reaches midfield, and Vela bursts into the box, but once again sees his shot deflected wide. A hosts force a couple of corners, but Shakhtar eventually get it clear after Pyatov punches the ball away for a throw in.

Shakhtar manage to get back on the attack and win a corner, but Taison's delivery if swiftly dealt with by the Sociedad defence. On the counter, Bergara clashes with Teixeira, and appears to have injured himself in the process.

Bergara is making his way to sideline with help from the physio. Esteban Granero has started warming up, so it looks like he'll be replacing the midfielder.

Griezmann delivers a high ball into the box for Sociedad. Vela is waiting for it, but Pyatov manages to muscle his way in front of the striker to take the ball. Meanwhile, after some treatment, Bergara has managed to come back on. Clearly the home side are hoping that he can run the injury off, with half time not all that far away.

Griezmann runs at the Donetsk goal again. From 20 yards out, he looks to pass to a teammate, but has no-one ahead of him so goes for the target himself, but his finish drifts high and wide.

Prieto is brought down right on the edge of the box by Srna, giving the hosts a free kick from a dangerous position. The crowd boo as they clearly want a penalty, but it's a good decision from the referee, as the foul was just outside the box.

CHANCE! Pardo goes for goal directly from the set piece, and manages to clear the wall, just brushing a Donetsk player on the way through, but his effort is inches wide of the top corner. He takes the resulting corner, but a Vela hand ball gives the visitors a free kick.

BOOKING! Griezmann makes a brilliant run through midfield, but is brought down around 25 yards out by Rakitskiy, who is booked for the foul.

CHANCE! Griezmann takes the free kick himself, but it goes just wide. The striker has had an impressive opening 45 minutes for Sociedad.

BOOKING! Luiz Adriano is the third Donetsk player to see yellow for a clumsy challenge on Pardo.

HALF TIME: Real Sociedad 0-0 Shakhtar Donetsk

So the first half finishes goalless at the Estadio Anoeta. The home side had the better start, and finished the half strongly, but the Ukrainians looked threatening in the middle part of the opening 45 minutes.

The visitors just edged the possession in the opening half with 53%, but the La Liga side had the better of the chances. Officially, Shakhtar had no shots, but Bravo did come off his line to claim a couple crosses, while Sociedad had 10 efforts with three on target.

Shakhtar will have to keep on eye on their discipline in the second half. They already have three players on yellow cards, and with Sociedad looking strong in front of goal, they won't want to find themselves a player down.

The only real concern for the hosts at this points is the injury to Bergara. The midfielder had been busy in defence and helping out up front until picking up a knock around 10 minutes from the break. Initially in looked like Granero would be replacing him, but he appeared to shake it off, and looked fairly comfortably as the teams left the pitch.

The players are back out ready for the second half.

Sociedad get the second half underway.

Shakhtar are quickly out of the blocks at the start of the second half, forcing Bravo to come out to meet a Taison ball. The home side immediately head down the other end of the pitch, but their efforts come to nothing.

Sociedad complete some speedy passing through midfield before forcing a corner. Griezmann's delivery fails to find any of his teammates. The nerves that both sides showed at the start of the first half appear to have vanished.

Vela plays his way into the box and looks to pull the ball back to Griezmann, but his pass is intercepted and cleared by Srna. Pardo gets the ball back in and wins a corner, but again Shakhtar's defence hols strong.

CHANCE! Donetsk counter attack, with Teixeira getting the ball in the box, but his curled effort finished just wide of the box.

Fernando and Srna team up in the Sociedad half as Shakhtar try to patiently build towards an opening goal, but Bergara, who is showing no signs of his first-half injury, manages to clear the danger.

CHANCE! Seferovic picks up the ball deep in the penalty area, controlling it on his chest before volleying it at Pyatov, who manages to punch the ball away, before pouncing on Vela's follow-up effort.

DISALLOWED GOAL! Taison thinks he's broken the deadlock, but the assistant's flag is up. The midfielder looks shocked, but he was a good 10 yards ahead of Estrada, who was the last man. Keeping onside has been a problem for the visitors all night.

GOAL! Real Sociedad 0-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (Teixeira)

Douglas Costa makes a superb run down the right-hand wing before crossing into the box, where Alex Teixeira is waiting to lash the ball into the back of the net, leaving Bravo no chance.

BOOKING! Douglas Costa is booked for time wasting.

SUB! Shakhtar make the first change of the match as Taras Stepanenko comes on for Tomas Hubschman.

SUB! The home side also send on fresh legs, bringing on last year's top goal scorer Imanol Agirretxe for Haris Seferovic, who has been relatively quiet this evening.

CHANCE! Griezmann thinks he's beaten the Shakhtar defence as he sprints away from the back four before lifting the ball over the keeper, but he's flagged for offside before he manages to get his shot away.

SUB! It's another change for the home side, as Antoine Griezmann makes way for Gonzalo Castro.

Sociedad are throwing everything at the Donetsk defence now, but their urgency to find an equaliser is causing them to rush, resulting in some mistakes. Agirretxe has had a couple of touches since coming on, but is yet to find himself in a goal-scoring position.

SUB! Douglas Costa heads off the pitch, with Bernard coming on in his place.

OFF THE BAR! Agirrexte finally gets himself in a dangerous position and tries to force in an equaliser, but it bounces back off the crossbar.

CHANCE! Fernando tries to seal the win for the visitors, but his scuffed effort is easily collected by Bravo.

BOOKING! Adriano is fouled by Bergara, but the Sociedad man claims that the striker handled the ball before the referee blew for the foul. The Romanian official thinks otherwise through, and books the midfielder for dissent.

SUB! Esteban Granero finally comes on, having almost replaced Bergara in the first half, but it's Pardo who makes way for the midfielder.

BOOKING! It's starting to get a bit ugly out there, as Fernando charges into Castro in midfield. The Shakhtar midfielder appears to have injured himself while committing the foul, but the referee is unsympathetic, and shows him the yellow card.

BOOKING! Inigo Martinez is the latest the pick up a booking for a challenge on the Shakhtar keeper. Pyatov stays down for well over a minute while receiving treatment, but seems fine when he manages to get to his feet.

SUB! Fred comes on for a brief cameo for the visitors, replacing Fernando.

GOAL! Real Sociedad 0-2 Shakhtar Donetsk (Teixeira)

It's another superb strike from Alex Teixeira to surely seal the victory for the visitors, striking the ball on the half-volley from the edge of the box. The scoreline seems harsh on the home side, who have created most of the chances tonight, but the Ukrainian side have certainly made the most of the few chances that have come their way.

Esteban Granero twists his knee while chasing down Fred. The midfielder is clearly in agony, and refusing to let the physio touch him before being carted to the sideline. The home side have already used all of their substitutes, so will have to play five minutes of stoppage time with 10 men.

CHANCE! Bernand has a chance to make it three for the visitors, as Taison crosses the ball into the box. The midfielder has time and space, but tries to hit it first time, but instead completed a rather spectacular air shot.

Shakhtar are taking advantage of the extra space created by Granero's absence. The visitors keep the ball in midfield before Teixeira picks up the ball out wide. The Brazilian is on a hat-trick, and takes the ball into the box before trying a close-range finish, but he gets his feet tangled, allowing the Spaniards the clear.

FULL TIME: Real Sociedad 0-2 Shakhtar Donetsk

In the end, more experience at this level, combined with a couple of fantastic strikes from Alex Teixeira, just gave Donetsk the advantage over their opponents this evening.

The win will leave Shakhtar second in group A, as Manchester United claim top spot following their 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Sociedad will be able to take many positives from their performance tonight. They were the underdogs, but produced some good chances in front of goal. The experience should serve them well later in the group stage.

That's all from Estadio Anoeta this evening but stick around for reports and reaction to all of tonight's Champions League matches and join us again tomorrow for more games from Europe's top club competition. Until then, thanks for joining me this evening, good bye.

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Real Sociedad players celebrate after Carlos Vela gives them the lead against Lyon on August 28, 2013
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