Champions League Group H wrap: Shakhtar pounce as Arsenal falter

Shakhtar Donetsk leapt to the top of Champions League Group H after Arsenal were shock 2-0 losers at Sporting Braga on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian side beat Partizan Belgrade 3-0 in Serbia to move to 12 points, three clear of Arsenal and Braga who are locked on nine points with one game remaining.

The win has all but secured Shakhtar’s path into the knockout stages, with only a loss of four goals or more against Braga in a fortnight able to dislodge them from a top two place in the group.

It was Partizan who came out firing in the opening passages of play in Belgrade, with goalkeeper Andrei Pyatov called into action to tip Sasa Ilic’s shot over the bar after just 20 seconds.

Shakhtar had chances of their own but it was not until the second half that they made them count.

Taras Stepanenko fired the visitors into the lead in the 52nd minute, slamming home his volley from close range after the Partizan defence failed to clear Jadson’s corner.

Brazilian Jadson went from provider to scorer seven minutes later when he struck from close range after being picked out by Croatian international Darijo Srna.

Former Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva sealed the win on 68 minutes, running onto Willian’s cross before firing the ball home.

In the group’s other match, Arsene Wenger will be furious after his side was denied what appeared to be a clear penalty before conceding two late goals in their 2-0 loss to Braga in Portugal.

Arsenal needed only a point to ensure their place in the last 16, and for most of the match a 0-0 draw appeared the most likely result.

The turning point of the match came in the 77th minute, when Alberto Rodriguez appeared to bring Carlos Vela down inside the box.

But instead of awarding a penalty, Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai gave Mexican international Vela a yellow card for diving, much to the disbelief of the Arsenal bench.

And barely six minutes later Braga were in front, Matheus racing onto a loose ball from deep in his own half before calmly slotting the ball past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Matheus settled the result deep into stoppage time, surging into the box and holding off three defenders before slamming a left footed shot off the goal frame and into the net.