Yesterday, October 21, Shakhtar Donetsk sensationally beat Real Madrid in the group stage of the Champions League with a score of 2:3. While Ukrainian fans are rejoicing over an unexpected victory over one of the best clubs in the world, the Spanish press destroys their capital club.
This fall, the Ukrainian national team played against Spain in the League of Nations. Our compatriots lost the first match and the Spanish mass media did not like the Ukrainian players very much, but the second game ended with the victory of the "yellow and blue". However, after the defeat of Fury Roha, Spanish journalists focused on the problems of their national team, and not on the success of Ukraine.
A week later, history repeated itself one by one. The sports publications of Spain put "Shakhtar" as an outsider of the group, which at most can hope for the 3rd place. Moreover, half of the main team of "miners" fell ill with the coronavirus. At the press conference before the game, journalists asked the head coach of "Real" Zinedine Zidane more about the unsuccessful game against the newcomer of La Liga "Cádiz": the "royal club" lost ingloriously. Journalists considered Shakhtar as a punching bag for Real before El Clasico: Madrid will play against their main competitor in Spain, Barcelona, on Saturday.
As after the national team match, the loss to Shakhtar shocked the Spanish fan, and the media criticized Real. And again, journalists do not understand what happened to their loved ones.
Thus, the leading sports publication Marca, which traditionally supports the Madrid club, did not find justification for "Real".
"Real" (Madrid) falls into a hole. "Real" betrayed its own story. He failed in the debut match of the Champions League at Alfredo Di Stefano. On its territory, in the stadium that bears the name of its great legend... "Shakhtar", devastated by the loss of the Brazilians, played as the number one in the first half, and after the break saved the right score, achieved a historic result. The result, which calls into question the prospects of the "creamy" players and the coach, who turned out to be unable to win the theoretically easiest match of the group," the journalists lamented.
"From ridiculous to Clasico" - with such a title appeared the material of AS newspaper, hinting that it will be extremely difficult for the "royal club" in the game with "Barcelona".
"Madrid paid dearly for the worst first half in its recent history and for Zidane's extravagant lineup. The resistance offered by Vinysius' associates was insufficient. "Real" avoided the hot reaction of the fans due to the pandemic, which devastated the stands. Zidane's team spent the worst 45 minutes in their recent history against a weakened Shakhtar. This shameful episode can have serious consequences, because "Inter" and "Borussia" from Mönchengladbach played a draw. The cavalry eventually arrived, but the battle was already lost, the journalists noted, noting that this was "the worst Real Madrid in a decade."
The author from Mundo Deportivo also focused his attention on the terrible performance of Real Madrid:
"After falling in the match with Cadiz, which resulted in a blow to the image of Madrid, Zidane's wards lost again - this time to Shakhtar in the Champions League. Their image improved a little in the second half, but in the first it was the same as with Cadiz. The only difference is that the team from Ukraine used their chances, which "Real" presented to them on a tray."
Perhaps before the next game between Shakhtar and Real Madrid, Spanish journalists will pay more attention to the champion of Ukraine.
