Real Madrid 2 – 3 Shakhtar Donetsk (Modric, Vinicius; Tete, Varane (OG), Solomon). Here’s our quick reaction right at the final whistle. Still to come: player ratings, post-game quotes, post-game podcast, and much more analysis.
At halftime, Shakhtar Donetsk, severely exhausted and without several regular starters, was up 0 – 3 at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano. The score was not flattering to the visitors in any way. They earned it, they quietly took the ball from behind and deserved the result. To prevent further bleeding, Thibaut Courtois stepped forward to stop a breakout in the first frame after Eder Militao slipped out of position following failed pressure from Zinedine Zidane’s men.
Militao’s performance will be magnified. It wasn’t just that sequence that he was out of position, but several others, including Shakhtar’s third goal. The cohesion between him and Raphael Varane was non-existent. Neither was the coverage of Marcelo and Mendy by the bands. Shortly before Shakhtar’s first goal, Mendy played a central attacking midfielder role, while Asensio was the team’s right-back. In the goal itself, Militao finished on the right side and the ball ended up at Tete’s feet on the left.
On Shakhtar’s second goal, Varane was slow to react on the rebound and then directed the ball into his own net.
And for the first 45 minutes, the theme was constant: the press was in disarray and the defensive line a constantly erupting volcano, defensive pieces flying everywhere. Offensively, there were no clear solutions (beyond the crosses) to break through Shakhtar’s organized low bloc. Luka Jovic, starting as the team’s target man in the area, climbed on the end of a beautiful cross from Marcelo, but he hit his jump and the ball hit his shoulder instead of his head.
With three goals at the break, Zidane brought in Karim Benzema for Rodrygo Goes. In two minutes Shakhtar landed a dangerous kickback and, during the second half, constantly threatened in the transition and missed two *glorious* possibilities. Courtois was great again.
Luka Modric started the comeback effort with his signature shoulder drop and near-pole curling iron:
Offensively, the team’s urgency increased and movement and passing became more direct. Vincius was the standard-bearer of urgency, taking on the responsibility of being the only one willing to haggle through the crowd and make something happen. On his first touch entering the game for Jovic, he grabbed a Shakhtar player’s pocket and ended up scoring:
Vinicius with a failed dribble attempt leads Benzema to shot into the 6-yard box. And there could be a lesson. Whatever you say about him, Vinicius constantly tries to attack defenders to create something. He takes those risks instead of playing backwards
– Madrid Management (@managingmadrid) October 21, 2020
But Real Madrid’s comeback fell short and Shakhtar left Madrid with a deserved victory. The damage was done in the first half, in what was a horrendous display by Zidane’s men. Frankly, a full comeback would not have overshadowed the team’s lingering problems, and it would have only been a fragile band-aid on a gushing wound.
We will break this down in more detail tonight.
