Mikel San Jose scored the only goal of the game as Athletic Bilbao beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in what proved a smash-and-grab Champions League win in Ukraine.
The defender flicked home the winner on 68 minutes to give Bilbao - who are already eliminated - their first win in Group E this season against a wasteful Shakhtar side in Lviv.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at what was a largely undeserved first win for the Spaniards.
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Match statistics
SHAKHTAR DONETSK
Shots: 8
On target: 3
Possession: 57%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 20
ATHLETIC BILBAO
Shots: 12
On target: 5
Possession: 43%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 15
Was the result fair?
Honestly, no. They may need to re-write the meaning of a 'smash-and-grab' after Bilbao left Ukraine with a largely undeserved first Champions League win of the season. Ignore the above statistics; Shakhtar boasted the best of the chances but their profligacy cost them dearly tonight. Did they deserve to win? Absolutely not, but they did enough and fashioned enough opportunities to earn at least a draw, with Mircea Lucescu's side also having a certain penalty waved away at the death.
Shakhtar Donetsk's performance
Shakhtar knew they were guaranteed a spot in the last 16 prior to kickoff after Group E leaders Porto beat third-placed BATE Borisov, and Lucesu's side looked a bit short on motivation in a first half that spawned very few chances for the hosts. Their best chance came early on when Alex Teixeira fluffed his lines in a one-on-one with Gorka Iraizoz but, aside from that, it was an uninspiring first-half display from a team that had scored 12 goals in their last two Champions League outings.
They did, to their credit, pick up the pace in the second half, with Luiz Adriano and Douglas Costa missing good chances between them but the opportunities did not suggest that a goal was imminent and in the end they paid the ultimate price for their lack of creative spark and woeful finishing, the like of which they cannot afford to bring into their second-round clash in February.
Athletic Bilbao's performance
Ernesto Valverde's side went into the game knowing that they could not reach the last-16 stage, but a positive result would have put them in the frame for a Europa League spot. However, you have to wonder how much Valverde values a spot in that tournament after resting his best striker, Aritz Aduriz. Borja Viguera deputised for the veteran striker and, in truth, looked a very uninspiring alternative in an opening 45 minutes that saw him have no impact - along with their other players, in Viguera's defence.
Aduriz was introduced on 65 minutes and Bilbao opened the scoring three minutes later. It will go down as a good win as they moved into poll position over securing a Europa League berth.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Mikel San Jose: The defender was brilliant at both ends of the field tonight and was far and away the stand-out candidate for man of the match. Despite being a centre-back, he emerged as Bilbao's primary goal threat in the first half and Lucescu should have addressed his presence in the opposition area during set pieces. San Jose then flicked home a winner on 68 minutes to provide the game's only goal.
Biggest gaffe
Teixeira had his head in his hands after only a few minutes. Reason being the Brazilian found himself one-on-one with Iraizoz but lacked the composure to convert the chance and give Shakhtar an early lead. It is safe to say that Teixeira will be among the quietest in the home dressing room around now.
Referee performance
Mark Clattenburg did not put a foot wrong for 88 minutes, correctly booking eight players throughout the course of the evening in what was shaping up to be an otherwise uneventful night for the Premier League referee.
However, Clattenburg failed to award Shakhtar a clear penalty in the dying minutes of normal time after Aduriz used his hand to divert a goal-bound shot off course. It soured what was a fine refereeing display up until that point but, in his defence, his assistants, who had a better view of it, offered little help.
What next?
Shakhtar Donetsk: Lucescu's side resume domestic duties in the Ukrainian top flight with a visit to FC Metalurh Zaporizhya on Sunday.
Athletic Bilbao: Meanwhile, Bilbao travel to Getafe on Saturday afternoon.
Shane Callaghan
