eduardo strikes late as shakhtar ease through published: thursday 17 march 2016, 22.57cet anderlecht 0-1 shakhtar (agg: 1-4) eduardo added some late gloss as mircea lucescu's side sealed a return to the quarter-finals for the first time since winning the trophy in 2009.
shakhtar through to last eight for first time since lifting the trophy in 2009 eduardo scores within 120 seconds of coming on as a substitute both teams finish with ten men as olexandr kucher and serigne mbodji are sent off home team anderlecht fail to manage a single shot on target quarter-final draw streamed live on uefa.com from 13.00cet on friday
shakhtar donetsk are through to the uefa europa league quarter-finals after resisting anderlecht's attempts at a comeback with something to spare before eduardo's 93rd-minute strike added the gloss.
all the onus was on the belgian outfit as they sought to overturn last week's 3-1 round of 16 first-leg defeat, but for all their earnest endeavour they seldom threatened – they did not muster a single shot on target. eduardo, just on as a substitute, capped the visitors' performance as he cushioned dentinho's pass and fired in.
credit to shakhtar. their ploy of defending deeper than they did in lviv to nullify the pace of frank acheampong worked a treat. there was an early scare when serigne mbodji's lovely header found the net following a corner but only after a shove in the back of his marker.
from then on shakhtar kept anderlecht at arm's length and ısmaily ought to have put the tie to bed moments before the interval after good work from marlos, only to drag his shot horribly. the second half followed a similar narrative, with mircea lucescu's team inviting the pressure and soaking it up.
the rearguard action took it out of their back line, and olexandr kucher's second booking late on was born of tiredness. mbodji's dismissal two minutes later was all about frustration though – it summed up anderlecht's night; the sight of eduardo wheeling away was appropriate enough for shakhtar.
talent spotting there were some 19 foreign scouts at the constant vanden stock, with no shortage of talent to cast their eyes over. for anderlecht, dennis praet (21) showed glimpses of his potential on the left while the pace and power of frank acheampong (22) provided a unrealised threat up front. shakhtar's viktor kovalenko (20) put in a shift in a pressure-relieving midfield role yet it was youri tielemans (18) who perhaps shone brightest during a 19-minute cameo. ıt seems the playmaker was born with a ball at his feet.
