Issa Doumbia's 59th-minute goal gives Sporting a 1-0 win over Shakhtar in the Champions League

A narrow win at Stamford Bridge

Sporting beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, in the fourth matchday of the Champions League league phase. The match was played at Stamford Bridge in London because Shakhtar have not used their Donbass Arena in Donetsk since 2014. The Ukrainian club has staged its home European fixtures in Poland, Germany and Slovenia since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and all four of its home league-phase games this season are at Chelsea's ground, which is free because Chelsea are not in European competition. Sporting's win was their third in four league-phase games, lifting them to nine points, while Shakhtar remain on four.

Sporting9

Shakhtar Donetsk4

Sporting

9 points

Shakhtar Donetsk

4 points

Data from the article text

How the goal came

Issa Doumbia put Sporting in front in the 59th minute, his second European goal of the season. Accounts of the chance differ. Blick describes a deflected cross from Silas Andersen, while RTP describes a ball that dropped loose in the penalty area after a rebound, which Doumbia was first to reach. Before that, Kauã Elias had the best chance of the first half for Shakhtar, skying a close-range effort over the bar. After the break Rui Silva denied him with a save. Luis Suárez also missed for Sporting, including a header that went wide and a chance in the 69th minute that flew over the bar.

Borges exit and an interim coach

Rui Borges was dismissed on Monday, 2 November, after a poor start to the domestic league that left Sporting third, nine points behind leaders Porto. Tuesday's match was the first without him. Tiago Fernandes took charge as interim coach after leading just one training session before the tie. He set the team up with three centre-backs and told SportingTV that Doumbia would play behind Fotis Ioannidis and Luis Suárez. Sporting are waiting for Paulo Fonseca to arrive and take over the coaching role, according to JN. Before this win, Sporting had lost 3-2 at home to LASK Linz in the previous round.

Shakhtar and the table

Five Brazilians started for Shakhtar, including Pedro Henrique, Alisson Santana and Kauã Elias. In the closing stages Shakhtar pushed for an equaliser and sent crosses into the Sporting box, but Blick reports they lacked accuracy, and Gonçalo Inácio cleared off the line during one late attack. Shakhtar's next Champions League match is at Stamford Bridge against Fenerbahce on Wednesday, 25 November. Sporting play Manchester United the same evening, and with nine points they moved provisionally into fifth place in the league phase, a result that BBC said improves their hopes of a top-eight finish.