Shakhtar Donetsk vs. PSG: Winners and Losers from Champions League Game

Paris Saint-Germain trail Real Madrid at the top of UEFA Champions League Group A by one solitary goal after a 3-0 win away at Shakhtar Donetsk secured the French champions three more points Wednesday.

Goals from Serge Aurier and David Luiz, as well as home captain Darijo Srna putting through his own net, gave Laurent Blanc’s men a comfortable-looking win on paper. However, the reality was that Mircea Lucescu’s men had chances to get back into the game at Arena Lviv, but they passed them all up.

Real’s 2-0 win away at Malmo FF, thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo double, means they lead PSG on goal differential, as both sides have six points. Les Parisiens’ victory in Ukraine sets them up nicely ahead of the doubleheader with Los Blancos after the upcoming international break.

Here are some winners and losers from PSG’s 3-0 win away at Shakhtar.

Winner: Serge Aurier

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The big winner on the night was PSG’s Serge Aurier.

Making his Champions League debut, the Ivorian wasted little time in making an impact, opening the scoring after just seven minutes with a header from a Maxwell cross. Aurier scored in the 4-1 away win at FC Nantes last weekend and continued his hot form in front of goal in Lviv.

The 22-year-old also got a touch on Angel Di Maria’s corner in the buildup to David Luiz’s unorthodox second goal, before providing Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a chance to head in record-equalling goal No. 109 for PSG.

The Swede was unable to do the African’s perfect cross justice by squaring Pauleta’s all-time goal tally, though, perhaps with a bit of help from Darijo Srna’s hand.

Aurier was vital at the other end as well, making a crucial block during a goalmouth scramble where Shakhtar somehow failed to score.

Loser: Darijo Srna

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Darijo Srna is a hero at Shakhtar for his undying love for the club, but the captain did not help his team Wednesday.

The Croatia international put through his own net under pressure from Ibrahimovic to make it 3-0 late in the game.

Srna, considering his prowess from set pieces, also had a good chance to score with a free-kick during the first half. The 33-year-old could only present PSG goalkeeper Kevin Trapp with an easy save, though, while his teammates conspired to find the back of the net with some great opportunities.

Winner: Maxwell

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It was another solid night’s work for Maxwell in Ukraine.

The experienced Brazilian provided Serge Aurier with the opening goal thanks to a pinpoint cross, and he came close to scoring the second himself, forcing Andriy Pyatov to make a save after Edinson Cavani had found him in space.

Otherwise, it was a steady and unspectacular display from the 34-year-old. Summer signing Layvin Kurzawa should pay attention to that sort of display if he wants to usurp the South American in Laurent Blanc’s starting XI.

Loser: Mircea Lucescu

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It was a frustrating night for Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu.

The Romanian saw his team lose 3-0 to PSG, yet the team really should have scored at least once—and also should have avoided the collateral damage of a soft third goal.

Lucescu set his team up well, with the highly rated Alex Teixeira the focal point of his tactics. The Brazilian supporting cast of Marlos and Taison also threatened PSG at various points.

However, the 70-year-old saw his three-part Ukrainian back line allow Serge Aurier and David Luiz to score two avoidable goals and his attackers miss umpteen chances to at least register some form of consolation.

Winner: Laurent Blanc

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While it was an irritating evening for Mircea Lucescu, PSG coach Laurent Blanc will be a relieved man.

His French champions come away from Lviv with a comprehensive victory, even though the performance on the pitch did not merit a 3-0 final score.

Le President got away with not making changes earlier in the game, especially in midfield with Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi struggling.

Blanc will now lead his team into the doubleheader against Real Madrid level on points with the Spaniards.

Loser: Angel Di Maria

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Although Angel Di Maria has been excellent since arriving in Paris, Wednesday’s performance in Ukraine was one of his worst so far for PSG.

The Argentina international wasted two very good chances to score for his team and fluffed another cross on a night where he simply failed to find his feet.

Despite those missed chances, Di Maria did still provided the corner from which David Luiz scored the team's second goal.