Alderweireld misses last-gasp penalty as Antwerp loses 3-2 to Shakhtar Donetsk in Champions League
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Antwerp defender Toby Alderweireld missed a penalty with the last kick as the Belgian champion squandered a two-goal lead to lose its first Champions League home game 3-2 to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
Alderweireld was given a great chance to equalize when Taras Stepanenko was penalized for handball in the penalty area in the sixth minute of injury time.
But Alderweireld — who scored Antwerp’s last-minute goal to clinch the Belgian league title last season — swept his spot kick to the left of the post and wide, leaving Shakhtar to celebrate a morale-boosting win.
Danylo Sikan had scored twice to help the Ukrainian team claim its first Group H win after recovering from a poor first half.
Arbnor Muja fired Antwerp ahead in the third minute and Michel-Ange Balikwisha swept in the home team’s second in the 33rd after a shaky start from the visitors.
But Shakhtar looked a different side after the break.
Georgiy Sudakov struck the crossbar and Yehor Nazaryna had a shot saved by Jean Butez, who had to react to keep out the rebound, then Sikan headed in Shakhtar’s first in the 48th.
Yaroslav Rakytskyy equalized with a deflected free kick in the 71st, and Sikan completed the comeback five minutes later after a mistake from the otherwise impressive Butez.
The Antwerp goalkeeper kept the ball in play to avoid conceding a corner, but only pushed it to Nazaryna’s feet. Nazaryna crossed for Sikan’s easy finish.
Shakhtar fans in the crowd displayed Ukraine flags to support their team. Shakhtar is playing all its games away from home because of Russia’s invasion of the country. This season in the Champions League, it is playing its designated home games in Hamburg, Germany, where it lost 3-1 to Porto in its opening game.
Antwerp lost 5-0 at Barcelona on its tournament debut.
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