Completely missing out on its first period, Brest is no longer in control of its destiny for direct qualification in the round of 16 of the Champions League after its defeat (3-0) against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
Brest, who have 13 points, are currently 11th in the standings but Bayern and AC Milan will move ahead of them if they take a point or more on the evening.
Definitely qualified at least for the play-offs for access to the eighth, the Finisterians will need a miracle to re-enter the top 8 and thus escape the double confrontation scheduled for mid-February.
Defeating the defending champion, Real Madrid, at the Stade du Roudourou, will not be enough. We will also have to hope for a favorable scenario during the mega-multiplex of the 18 final matches of the League phase on January 29.
Eric Roy, who never lost sight of where Brest was starting from – a complete novice on the European scene at the start of the season – will be able to put the limited sporting consequences of this setback into perspective.
On the other hand, he will certainly be much less lenient on his team’s performance during the first 45 minutes.
Except against Barcelona (0-3), we had never seen Brest so dominated technically, tactically and aggressively.

Shakhtar Donetsk Brazilian striker Kevin Macedo celebrates his goal against Brest in the Champions League on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. / INA FASSBENDER / AFP
We knew that the Ukrainians were undoubtedly better than their 29th place at the start of the match and that they were fans of good starts to the match.
Having just returned from an internship in Turkey and despite a month without an official match to play, Shakhtar was impressive in their mastery and accuracy, also winning all the duels against the Brestois who are usually their greatest strength.
To add insult to injury, Brest suffered from the failures of some of its leaders who almost gave their opponents goals.
Harmless Brest
The opening score came from a poor control by captain Brendan Chardonnet, at the opposing forty meters but in the position of last defender, on a Ukrainian clearance.
Brazilian winger Kevin, who recovered the ball, was able to cross the entire Brest half of the field to deceive Marco Bizot perhaps placed too low at the start of the action (1-0, 18th).
Bizot, who was however coming back in great form recently, then conceded a slightly stupid penalty with a poorly controlled exit at the feet of Irakli Azarov.

Sudakov (number 10) scores a penalty for Shakhtar Donetsk against Brest on Wednesday in the Champions League, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. / INA FASSBENDER / AFP
Heorhiy Sudakov had fun with a Panenka that the Dutch goalkeeper brushed past without preventing the 2-0 (37th).
Shortly before that, Eguinaldo had escaped the attention of Chardonnet, taking advantage of Bizot not coming out quickly enough with his control too long, to cross his shot, but a little too much (31st).
Donetsk often having difficulty finishing its matches, a semblance of hope remained at the break, especially as Ludovic Ajorque (15th) and Hugo Magnetti (40th) had very good chances.
But if possession was very largely in its favor, Brest rarely threatened the opposing cage, apart from a sublime 30-meter free kick from Mathias Pereira Lage which forced Dmytro Riznyk to make a beautiful save under his crossbar (79th ).
With a very theoretical chance of qualifying directly, the reception of Real will be a great way to celebrate the new dimension taken by this special team.
Shakhtar, 27th with 7 points, remains alive even if it will have to win in Dortmund, a few kilometers from the Arena AufSchalke where it plays its European matches, and also count on a combination of favorable circumstances to see the dams.