After a stunning home loss to Sheriff Tiraspol, group D was wide open at the halfway mark, with Real Madrid leading Inter Milan by two points with six points. It may still go anyway, making today’s match against Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine all the more crucial. Madrid thrashed Shakhtar 5-0 on the road last time out.
Both teams had chances to score in the first ten minutes. Luka Modric had more time in the box than he has been used to and could only force a save after two minutes. Very shortly afterward, Alain Patrick hit Thibaut Courtois’ post from afar. After a defensive blunder, Vinicius junior set up Karim Benzema for the tap-in, Real Madrid took the lead. . Shakhtar then began to pick up their game, producing several excellent opportunities. Fernando hammered the ball home for the club’s first Champions League goal, the game was level.
At the start of the second half, Madrid was able to keep things equal, but a series of poor touches, passes, and decision-making began to irritate spectators. After concluding a wonderful combining Vinicius Junior and Casemiro and Benzema beautiful placement put them ahead. Shakhtar had little chance to stop the goal because of the quickness of the combined play. Fortunately for the hosts, the game slowed significantly following the score, and Shakhtar appeared to be significantly less dangerous. Los Blancos didn’t make any major statements of their own, that would be enough for Madrid to win the game 2-1.
š FT : @realmadriden 2-1 @FCShakhtar_eng
ā½ @Benzema 14', 61'; Fernando 39'#UCL | #Emirates pic.twitter.com/3YM2B6IdDz— Real Madrid C.F. š¬š§šŗšø (@realmadriden) November 3, 2021
