A hat-trick from Luiz Adriano has helped Shakhtar Donetsk to beat Nordsjaelland 5-2 in a controversial Champions League fixture.
© AP Photos
Shakhtar controlled possession in the early stages but it was the hosts who broke the deadlock midway through the first half, with Joshua John finding Morten Nordstrand, who slotted the ball home from the centre of the box.
However, the visitors equalised just moments later when Luiz Adriano intercepted teammate Willian's attempt to give the ball back to Nordsjaelland before beating Jesper Hansen and tapping the ball in from close range.
Following the home side's complaints, Shakhtar appeared to be willing to allow their opponents to score a second goal straight from the restart but that decision was quickly changed with Nordsjaelland's progress being halted.
The hosts were infuriated by the incident but did manage to restore their lead just seconds later with Kasper Lorentzen firing the ball past Andriy Pyatov.
Shakhtar once again pulled a goal back, with Willian drilling the ball into the bottom corner inside a congested penalty area on the stroke of half-time.
Willian put his side ahead in spectacular fashion in the 50th minute when he met Darijo Srna's corner with a powerful strike from the edge of the box.
Adriano gave the visitors some breathing space just two minutes later by finding space inside the area to tap home Alex Teixeira's cross.
Nordajaelland enjoyed a good spell of dominance as the game drew to a close but failed to take their chances, with both Lorentzen and Anders Christiansen missing great opportunities to set up a dramatic finish.
Adriano completed the Shakhtar victory with a few minutes left by beating Hansen with a close range finish to complete his hat-trick.
Callum Mulvihill
