The current UEFA Champions League champions, Real Madrid, continue to dominate the group stage. They have won all three games in this tournament so far. Last night, the Los Blancos got their third successive victory as they defeated Shakhtar Donetsk at Santiago Bernabeu.
Match Report
Real Madrid welcomed Shakhtar Donetsk at Santiago Bernabeu to play their third game in the UCL. Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti played his best possible XI in this match against Shakhtar Donetsk. He set up his usual 4-3-3 formation at their home. The manager played Karim Benzema in the front with two young talents, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. On the other side, Shakhtar’s boss played his team in a 4-1-4-1 formation.
As the home team, Madrid tried to dominate from the start of the match. They pressed the opponents highly. Therefore, the Los Blancos didn’t have to wait much to take the lead. Brazilian young talent Rodrygo found the net in the 13th minute for the home team. A few minutes later, Real Madrid doubled their lead. This time, in-form player Vinicius Junior scored a stunning goal with the help of Rodrygo.
However, Shakhtar Donetsk made the match more competitive by returning a goal. Striker Oleksandr Zubkov scored that goal in the 39th minute for the visitors. It seemed they would equalize before halftime. But both teams failed to score more in the remaining minutes of the game. As a result, Real Madrid sealed their third victory in the UEFA Champions League and have secured their place in the round of 16.
Ancelotti’s Reaction
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti had a press conference after the 2-1 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk. The manager said, “The team relaxes when they can relax. We were winning 2-0 and the game was under control. Intensity is important, but it can’t always be done. We dropped the intensity, thinking that the game was under control and we were comfortable. I had a word with them at half-time because the game wasn’t over. Sometimes this happens, because we were playing well and it seemed easy, but these games are dangerous. We only gave them one opportunity in attack, I’m not worried”