Shakhtar Donetsk, who have not been able to play games in actual Donetsk since 2014 (due to all the conflict in the region with Russia), have been looking for a stadium fit for Champions League football this season, and after many weeks of negotiations, and just a few weeks before the group stage begins, have finally settled on a location. Chelsea announced this morning that all four of Shakhtar’s home games in the Champions League group stage will be played at the Bridge this season. It’s unclear
if that arrangement would extend to the knockout rounds, but presumably it would since Chelsea have no European football whatsoever so all those dates should be free to use as well.
At the moment, Shakhtar play their home league games in Lviv, which is about as far as you can get from Donetsk within Ukraine, but UEFA don’t want any games staged in the country so Shakhtar have to look abroad. Last year, they played games in Slovenia and Poland, but this year, they were hoping to keep to just one location, with London preferred. Fulham’s Craven Cottage and Brentford’s Community Stadium were also under consideration, but they went with the best choice instead.
As per The Athletic, Chelsea will be running matchday logistics for Shakhtar, with some tickets set to be available to Chelsea season-ticket holders and members as well. Be sure to wear orange-and-black and/or Willian or Mudryk kits in solidarity.
The draw for the Champions League group stage league phase will be held next Thursday.
