Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Real Madrid
All of the focus this week has been on the upcoming El Clasico in Madrid, in spite of their trip to Warsaw to play Shakhtar Donetsk. However Shakhtar made them sweat for 100 minutes and it was anything but a simple affair for Los Blancos.
The first half was a tame affair where neither side attacked with much aggression. Although Real Madrid dominated the ball again, only a Rodrygo Goes shot from a narrow angle and a Fede Valverde effort from distance tested Anatoliy Trubin. Shakhtar came forward far more often than against Los Blancos in Madrid too.
Just after half-time, the Ukrainian side made them pay for that lax attitude. Mykhaylo Mudryk, a constant threat, played the ball out to the left on a counter-attack. The ball from the left side found Oleksandr Zubkov unmarked at the back post, whose header found the bottom corner less than a minute into the second period.
Real Madrid struggled to create much threat until the final 20 minutes. It was Lacina Traore who came closest to the next goal. Set through on the break, Trarore tried to round Andriy Lunin and his hand initially got to the ball, but it fell back to Traore. His shot from the angle grazed the bar.
As the game entered its twilight phase, Real Madrid upped the tempo and began to find joy. A Vinicius Junior header went narrowly over and an Antonio Rudiger effort narrowly wide as the game ticked towards stoppage time.
Just as it was seeming as if Shakhtar might score a famous victory, in the final minute of stoppage time, Toni Kroos swung a ball in from deep. Trubin came but Rudiger glanced a header beyond him. The two were down for some time, but Rudiger, bloodied, emerged with the equaliser.
Antonio Rudiger snatches an equalizer for Real Madrid… but not after a brutal collision 😬 #UCL pic.twitter.com/MxcuYtUcfC
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) October 11, 2022
This 95th-minute Antonio Rüdiger goal helped Real Madrid qualify for the #UCL knockout stage. 😳 pic.twitter.com/dwBXOknEYt
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 11, 2022
Rudiger equalizes for Real Madrid 🔥🔥🔥⚽⚽⚽#UCLpic.twitter.com/jQEkcA6Cnx
— MD Sports (@mda_creations) October 11, 2022
This was a long way from the preparation that Carlo Ancelotti might have envisaged for Real Madrid ahead of El Clasico. His side showed flaws and were made to work hard for their point, which secures knockout football again. However the late equaliser will only strengthen his side’s almost invincible belief.
📸 – Rüdiger is back on his feet again after his last minute equalizer. pic.twitter.com/rj6Fwu5Ad5
— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) October 11, 2022
Tony is a real warrior.
On the other hand, look at Eden Hazbeen.
The man is barely visible unless he loses a ball. He was breaking up plays, misplacing passes all night, always picking the wrong choice and had zero authority.
In this huge club, with all its legends and glory, imagine that your only legacy will be the magnitude of your utter and total failure that is incomparable to ANYONE else that came and went in this club. It sickens me to my stomach that he is being paid full salary for playing at 20%, tops.
Football should have a buyuout rule, where you can get rid of an anchor contract that drags you down to the bottom.
Hazbeen would be the perfect candidate.