It seems impossible to stand up in a match that is also decisive for your future in the Champions League, when they bomb the city you live in, the city where your family lives, your friends, your colleagues… Even if we take into account that for eight years outside of their city, in a borrowed stadium and the fans have not been able to show the team their warmth. But sometimes faith has no limits to the resilience of a group that has grown through difficulties. And that brought Shakhtar to the brink of winning a historic match due to the circumstances in which it occurred against a defending champion. However, a Rudiger goal in the final match saved Madrid an unmatched draw.
It was comforting from the very beginning to see the affectionate typhus filling the stands with twin Ukrainian and Polish flags. With the agonizing situation of Putin bombing a dozen Ukrainian cities, Shakhtar Donetsk took the field with their young talent to face a merit-based Real Madrid, which Ancelotti implied he was more aware of Sunday’s match against Barcelona at the Bernabeu.
Benzema turned eleven to lubricate an offensive that had stalled in recent days and pushed ahead of the classic. With Vinicius and Modric in tow and Courtois in Madrid, Hazard got up to eleven to catch his last train. Few people trust the Belgian anymore, but no one can blame Carletto for not giving the whole team a chance this season.. If he led the League and Champions League with 14 players last year, this World Cup year is mid-season and he’s betting on polishing his wardrobe.
In Madrid, Shakhtar showed both arrogance and laziness on defense. Not even a bad kick to short-circuit the Whites’ offense that Benzema enjoys playing. game host off the hook as a hitch. This time it was Hazard who went down to establish relationships between the lines and left Kerim as a reference. In the Ukrainians, Jovicevic placed Traoré as a buoy in an attack where Mudryk directed the blame. The atmosphere was intimate, dominated by white but with an intense rhythm. A few chances and a growing Shakhtar against a Madrid playing on autopilot. Pacific tie at halftime.
cold goal
Everything blew up in Shakhtar’s first offensive game when Zubkov turned his back on Mendy and took the header. His first two shots at the Bernabeu and at Warsaw made it to Lunin’s nets. The quiet siesta in Madrid turned into a nightmare. The goal hurt so much that Ancelotti grilled all the meat with Modric and Vinicius. With the courage of a brave coach like Igor Jovicevic, a 40-minute siege was coming against a team defending with the enthusiasm of a whole country. It will come true or go astray, but this Shakhtar proposal is admirable beyond anything that surrounds it.
Traoré was able to deliver the penalty, which finished off a counter-kick hit the crossbar before Ancelotti’s monumental fury, then it was Zubkov who coached Lunin in a long shot, and then Mudryk wasted another inning. Far from inflating the Ukrainians, there was a leak in Madrid without Tchouaméni. And Carletto’s rage was morrocotudo days after the classic. His players were still gray, bloated, and slow. The first defeat of the season was closer than a draw for the Ukrainian cons. Whites had chances, but did not shoot on goal until Rudiger’s shot came in in the second half. A little more to say.
Although Rudiger’s goal is not yet the first, it directly classifies Madrid. The Whites continue this season without losing or conceding a goal in all matches, and are saved on extreme days in front of the classic. Amid their tragedy, Shakhtar lacked a victory that would make Ukraine smile.
Data sheet
1- SAKHTAR: Trubin; Mykhaylichenko, Bondar, Matviyenko, Konoplia; Stepanenko; Traore, Bondarenko, Sudakov, Mudryk; Zubkov. Coach: Igor Jovivic. Changes: Changes: Sikan for Traoré (76′), Jurasek for Sudakov (79′), Taylor for Zubkov (79′), Petriak for Mudryk (85′)
1- REAL MADRID: Lunin; Lucas Vázquez, Nacho, Rüdiger, Mendy (Alaba; Valverde (Camavinga, Tchouaméni, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Hazard. Coach: Carlo Ancelotti. Changes: Vinicius (56′) for Danger, Tchouameni (56′) for Modric, for Alaba Mendy (67′), Camavinga (67′) for Valverde, Asensio (67′) for Rodrygo
AIM: 1-0, Zubkov (46′), 1-1, Rudiger (95′)
JUDGE: Orel Grinfeld from Israel. Konoplia warns Militao, Bondarenko, Kroos.
STADIUM Municipal Marshal Józef Pilsudski, Warsaw.