Group E's main event took place in a surprisingly desolate Juventus Stadium tonight; and it was Shakhtar Donetsk who were the surprisingly disappointed with the draw. 

The 1st half began with Shakhtar as the much brighter of the two sides. Whilst failing to keep hold of the ball in the middle of the park; Juventus were almost made to pay the ultimate price for their lack lustre start to the match. Mhitryan, one of the most in-form players in Europe, missed the first real chance of the evening. After some wonderful play by Willian and then Rat, the ball landed at the 23 year old's feet 4 yards from Buffon's goal; but he was unable to convert due to a slight bobble as he was shaping up for an effort on goal.

Shakhtar Donetsk's emphasis on a use of quick counter attacks, showed it's first signs of it's tactical brilliance in the 10th minute. Former Tottenham Hotspur target Willian's incisive running from deep in midfield gave Fernandinho an opporunity to show off his long range shooting ability, and his shot just screwed wide of the goal.

After Vucinic was flagged offside even though he was in his own half, and 4 yards behind the last defender; the incompetence of the officials was made explicit by a remarkable decision to not give the visitors a penalty. Another sweeping counter attack culminated in Mkhitryan crossing the ball low and hard across the six yard box, and as Willian was gearing up to slam the ball into the empty net, Lichsteiner pulled the Brazilian to the ground in a fashion that would normally warrent the awarding of a penalty.

Although the visitors dominated the opening exchanges, Juventus were able to carve out two great opportunities to score during the first twenty minutes. The first chance fell to Matri who was unable to make a telling connection on an exquisite low cross by his striking partner, Mirko Vucinic. Juventus' second clear chance was created by a quite stunning chipped through ball from La Vecchia Signora's regista, Andrea Pirlo. Marchisio's volleyed attempted on goal sadly did not mirror the brilliance of the assist, as the ball flew over the bar.

It was the Ukrainian champions however, who were the team to deservedly break the deadlock. Willian, a player whom Juventus had no answer to all afternoon, was the provider for Alex Texeira who rifled the ball high into the goal from 12 yards. There was a bit of luck that led to this goal, as Willian's first attempt on goal was blocked and came straight back to him before the Brazilian threaded the ball through a congested penalty area to his midfield partner.

The old footballing cliche of "you are most vunerable after you score", reared its ugly head just two minutes after Shakhtar's goal. A clever low corner to the edge of the penalty area by Pirlo, was met by Leonardo Bonucci who slammed the ball into the top corner.

After this goal Juventus began to grow into the contest as Bonucci once again nearly popped up with a goal from a set piece, in the last minute of the first half. This time Bonucci's head caused mass panic in the Shakhtar defence; Pyatov's left leg was the difference between going into the half time interval undeservedly a goal down ,and going into the changing rooms with their heads still held high.

Unlike the start of the first half, it was Juventus who came out with all guns blazing. They began to press high up the field and push Lichsteiner and Asamoah further up the field; but this commitment in forward areas almost cost Juventus on more than one occasion during the second half.

A powerful run by Rakitsky out of defence allowed Shakhtar to quickly exploit the gaps in the Juventus midfield, and after Mkhitryan teed up Willian for a shot outside the area; the young Brazilian watched his effort go just wide of the mark.

Almost immediately after this chance was squandered, Juve's substitute Giovinco, set up Matri for a chance that a centre forward can ill afford to miss. The Atomic Ant after some strong running on the left flank played a pin point cross to Matri who failed to beat the goal keeper with a delicate chip from just 5 yards.

This chance was crucially the last Juventus created even though they had more of the ball than their rivals. Shakhtar on the other hand were able to create numerous chances including a last minute one on one opportunity which Willian could only hit the bar from.

Juventus are now two points adrift of Shakhtar Donetsk and Chelsea after their 8th consecutive draw in European competition. 

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About the author
Jack  Gallagher
Member of the VAVEL writing team since June 2012, and became editor-in-chief of the UK edition in June 2013. English and History at QUB.