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A series of failures at the Ukrainian championship allowed critics to spread their wings. Luis Castro was spoken with many unpleasant words, which is why the team approached the start of the Champions League not only with personnel losses, but also with a bad aura. Optimistic forecasts boiled down to the fact that Shakhtar in the group would hardly reach third place at the most. And in the context of this particular match, they didn’t even dream of an acceptable result. They said that happiness would not be great.
But it turned out that after the first half, the big and formidable fondness for “Royal” badges should have dreamed of not losing big. Zinedine Zidane had composition problems (Edegor, Carvajal, Ramos), but he abandoned them. He probably succumbed to the influence of the Spanish press, which did not see Shakhtar as a serious rival. The inappropriate attitude towards the Pitmen was evidenced by the fact that Karim Benzema, the leader of this Real Madrid, was kept in reserve.
Do you remember the moment of Jovic at 30 minutes? When did the pass from behind the back hit the Shakhtar defenders and did Luka get a chance to hit his head from close range? He hit mediocre, and Benzema probably would have scored. During the first 45 minutes, you can remember the moment of Asensio, leveled by Trubin, and a few more side sheds of assets Marcelo and Mendy. Everybody.
At first, Shakhtar showed no signs of what they could do with Real Madrid. Castro defended with two lines. The first of them was formed from six players, the second from four. That is, the entire team. So the Pitmen don’t play at the UPL. Yes, and in European competition matches it is difficult to remember such a model. But today it was like that. And it worked.
It is important that Shakhtar seize their opportunities ahead. Although at first there was a disappointment in this component. Marlos went one-on-one in the 14th minute, but failed to beat Courtois. Faced with that flank, Dodo tried to escape. He easily passed the sets from his half of the field behind the defenders of “Real”. And during the match, Zidane did not draw conclusions.
And the Shakhtar pressed on the weak points. Thanks to the long pass, the third goal was scored (Manor Solomon started the attack and finished it off after a short pass from Tete), and the first and second goals were a terrible heads-up for the Madrid defenders. How was Kornienko allowed to break through and throw the ball over Tete? The best teams shouldn’t have that. Tete hit good. Even too good for the unsuspecting Courtois. The second goal is the efforts of Tete, who shot down the wing, and Dentinho, who imposed the fight on Varane and made him make a mistake (cut in his own goal).
But this was only the first half. And it was naive to expect Real Madrid to keep scattering rose petals in front of the Pitmen. Time began with the assault on Trubin’s gates, which led to nothing. And then Modric settled on a long-range attack … Perhaps this was the turning point. Real Madrid scored thanks to individual skill and inspiration. And when Marlos made a mistake in front of his penalty area, giving Vinisus the opportunity to distinguish himself with the first touch of the ball, a smile began to appear on the faces of the Real Madrid players.
That’s right, but Madrid’s failures in defense have not disappeared anywhere. It’s a shame that Shakhtar didn’t use them in the second half. After passing and passing Kornienko, Tete shot past. And then he, from the free zone provided by Varan, did not beat Courtois in close combat. And the goal in the second half was very necessary.
But they didn’t score. The good thing is that at least they calmed down in the context of playing defense: two steps reappeared, the number of short and medium passes decreased again, which made life difficult for the rival. “Real” kept pushing, but there were fewer chances. There was a blow from Mendy, but there was a response in the form of a counterattack, which Tete developed, and Marlos closed effectively. It is true that there was an offside position in the initial phase of the offense.
Shakhtar was tired, but he survived. He survived and took three points from Madrid. Although everything was on the verge of collapse, when Valverde scored a shot from medium distance. It was fortunate that Vinicius blocked Trubin’s view in an offside position. After watching the replay, the referee canceled the goal. Who would have thought?! However, the work is far from over, only the foundations are laid. There will be many surprises in this group.
Champions League. Group B. First round
Spain. Madrid. “Alfredo Di Stefano”
Referee on the field – Srdan Jovanovic (Serbia)
Real (Madrid, Spain) – Shakhtar (Donetsk, Ukraine) 2: 3
Goals: Modric 54, Vinicius 59 – Tete 29 Varan 33 (own goal), Solomon 41
“Real”: Courtois – Mendi, Varane, Militao, Marcelo – Valverde, Casemiro, Modric (Kroos 70) – Asensio, Jovic (Vinicius 59), Rodrigo (Benzema 46)
“Miner”: Trubin – Dodo, Bondar, Khocholava, Kornienko – Maikon – Marcos Antonio (Vyunnik 90 + 3), Marlos – Tete, Solomon (Vitao 90 + 2) – Dentinho (Sudakov 86)
Warnings: Asensio 34, Militao 87 – Kornienko 8, Bondar 83
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