Real Madrid defeated Shakhtar Donetsk for the second time in a row on Wednesday evening. Carlo Ancelotti’s team did not play great, but only two goals from Karim Benzema: 2-1. The Frenchman’s first goal had the Royal a magical edge: Real became the first club to have scored 1000 goals in the Champions League.
Shakhtar was saved in the fifth minute by his goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who saved on a threatening attempt by Luka Modric. After that, the Ukrainians also showed themselves fully. Alan Patrick shot the post from about eighteen meters, while Mykhaylo Mudryk broke through the defense of Real on the left. However, the midfielder played the ball too far ahead of him, allowing Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to intervene.
Almost out of nowhere, Real took the lead after fifteen minutes, when Marlon lost the ball to Vinícius Júnior in his own penalty area. The Real attacker put a wide on Benzema from the back line, who simply tapped the ball in: 1-0. Shortly afterwards, Real became threatening via Modric, who fired at Trubin’s foot from inside the penalty area. The remainder of the first half, however, was obvious to Shakhtar. Fernando aimed his first chance at the intersection, but the striker knew what to do with his second chance. After a long pass, Alan Patrick cleared the ball with his chest for Fernando, who chased the ball into the roof of the goal after the bounce: 1-1.
After the break, there was significantly less to do for the supporters present in the Santiago Bernabéu. The supporters of Real were spoiled fifteen minutes into the second half with a wonderful team goal from their team. Vinícius set up a combination with Casemiro, who played the ball back to his compatriot with the heel. Vinícius, in turn, put wide on Benzema, who again finished it simply: 2-1. Shakhtar went looking for the equalizer, but barely made it through. Taras Stepanenko shot just wide of the crossbar from a distance, while Ismaily’s header went quite high. Courtois saved in stoppage time on a shot from the edge of Georgiy Sudakov’s box.
A brilliant attack from Real Madrid ?? The two Brazilians Vinicius Junior and Casemiro find each other effortlessly, after which Karim Benzema is the final destination again ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #RMASHK pic.twitter.com/CuFnX2gCHV
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Nov 3, 2021
Real takes the lead in Group D with nine points from four matches, but cannot count themselves rich yet. Later in the evening, Sheriff Tiraspol (six points out of three) will play against Internazionale (four points out of three). If the Italians win, there are still two clubs within reach of Real. It will be difficult for Shakhtar, who has one point from four matches.