It was the final Champions League night of the season in Glasgow's east end.
After just one point from their first four matches, Ange Postecoglo u's Celtic side found themselves in a must win situation if they wanted to keep their European football dreams alive this term. But despite recording more shots, possession and corners than the Ukrainian side, Postecoglou's men were unable to turn their pressure into goals.
Giorgos Giakoumakis opened the scoring to send Celtic Park into raptures just after the half-hour mark, yet there was a sense of unease in the Glaswegian air as Shakhtar's counter-attacking prominence remained strong - and just before the hour mark, young wing prodigy Mykhaylo Mudryk punished the lack of chances to tie the game and leave Celtic on the edge.
Whipped ball after whipped ball didn't work, and that could have changed had Kyogo Furuhashi capitalised on a superb slide-rule pass from Giakoumakis; though it wasn't to be as Celtic's stars crashed out without a whimper as they will look back on regret on not giving one of the admittedly easier Champions League groups a good go under the Australian boss.
Here are what the pundits had to say after the final whistle...
Chris Sutton
"Well done to Shakhtar Donetsk. Celtic out of Europe. Missed opportunities did for Celtic in the Champions League this season. Some good performances.
"Good chances created but bang average finishing. But I like what Ange Postecoglou is building."
John Hartson
"It looks like we are miles away in terms of the league and the situation that we are in with two draws from five games - but I don't think we really are. We started here brilliantly against Real Madrid. It's just finer details and that little bit of luck. Tonight, Giakoumakis' goal.
"I can't keep going on about luck all the time. Ange will keep trying to improve. We're decimated with injuries as well - 3 of our best players are out in Starfelt, Jota and McGregor. We keep creating opportunities and I can't think ever of Celtic creating so many opportunities and not putting 10 per cent of them away. If you go through the numbers, they are ridiculous in terms of how many efforts on goal we've had. 68 attempts on goal and we've scored 3 goals!
"So that, you have to have a look at. It was never a problem for me missing chances because you know you have the opportunity, and the goals will come, it's when you are playing the game and you have no chance of opportunities - you think 'are you making the right runs?'.
"This is a brilliant chance, a great weighted ball from Giakoumakis - but Kyogo has to do better for a player of his quality and the standard he has set himself with exquisite finishing."
Johan Mjallby
"You need to be able to keep clean sheets in the Champions League. That's what I want to see - keep this attacking brand of football but get the balance right.
"Don't concede goals."
John Collins
"Shakhtar came here happy to take a point. They always looked a threat on the break.
"Celtic had loads of the ball second half, but never really looked like cutting through."
Packie Bonner
“It was a fascinating game in many ways, tactically.
“Celtic just couldn’t get that vital opportunity to get that second goal and they [Shakhtar] also looked a threat on the counter attack.
“Celtic played with huge risk. On a scale on one to ten it was an eight. There was nobody in the middle of the pitch for them. When you look back at the goal, again, caught on the counter.
“The way that Celtic played, that is not in their vocabulary. And they looked vulnerable.”
READ NEXT
