Shakhtar Donetsk kept themselves in contention to progress from the league phase of the Champions League by beating Brest.
The Ukrainian side knew they needed to win both of their remaining games to have a chance of reaching the knockout round.
They faced a tough task against a Brest side who have been the surprise package of this year’s Champions League.
The French team had won four of their previous six games to put themselves on the cusp of sealing a top-eight finish.
Another win against Shakhtar would have all but secured that, but they fell behind early in the first half when Kevin raced through the middle to slot in.
Shakhtar were then awarded a penalty shortly before half-time after Irakli Azarovi was fouled inside the box and Georgiy Sudakov stepped up to cheekily chip home the spot-kick.
Brest never looked like fighting back to get a result, with the loss dropping them out of the top eight with one game remaining.
Their defeat is also a boost for Aston Villa as it means Brest remain on 13 points – the same as Unai Emery’s side.
