Courtois: It had been a beacon for Madrid even in the darkest days, but it also failed. He saved a first hand-in-hand with Marlos that made him anticipate what was coming. In the 0-1 and in the 0-3 he was sold, but in the 0-2 his clearance after Tete's shot was very defective, to the center and without any strength; Varane, in his attempt to clear the ball, put it in his goal. In the second half Mateus spared his life in a very clear action for 1-4. Already with 2-3, he saved Shakhtar's room in a heads-up with Tete.
Mendy: As a right back he loses almost all his attacking power; He appeared a lot at the top, but at the time of giving the decisive pass he was seen that it is not his place. In defense he had a bad time with Solomon and in the 0-2 action he let Korniienko slip through, at the beginning of a nonsense that ended with Tete's goal.
Militao: one of the most salvageable of Madrid, he cut off good deeds from Mateus and Marlos, but he was also very clueless when going to pressure in the middle; In one of those almost Marlos marks and repeated it at 0-3, in which both the Brazilian and Varane appeared late and Solomon took advantage. In the second half he cut a clear action from Mateus that smelled like Shakhtar's room. In addition, with Madrid's goals, an interesting phenomenon occurred: he stepped forward to be the first white attacker when Shakhtar defended tooth and nail, leaving Varane behind him. His confidence increases in moments of tension, it is not a bad attribute to play for Madrid.
Varane: A night to forget, a bad sign after what happened in Manchester in the last game of last season. He gave Korniienko all the time in the world in the 0-1 action, he scored an own goal for the 0-2 (not helped by Courtois's terrible clearance) and the 0-3 caught him out of the way. Shakhtar's electric attack put him in a very bad place.
Marcelo: Mateus and Marlos beat him back on countless occasions, especially in counter-attack actions. In Marcelo's case, that is available, but in return Zidane expects magic in attack, which did not happen; the Brazilian must be more than centers to the pot. At 0-3, he chased Mateus as much as he could in the absence of Varane and Militao, but the Brazilian's high heel to mark Solomon made his effort useless. In the second part he appeared much higher, but without being decisive.
Casemiro: exceeded by the Ukrainian counterattacks, he did not give security back and was also imprecise with the ball. A figure like his is justified if it strengthens a bad night for the centrals, but it was not the case by far. Much better in the second half, helped by the general improvement of the whites.
Valverde: bad too, with very little weight with the ball and being late to pressure several times. This was not an evil exclusive to the Uruguayan; all of Madrid was a box when trying to regain possession. He started the second half on the right wing, but with the entry of Vinicius he focused and almost finished as a hero: he made it 3-3, but the referee annulled it for Vinicius's positional offside, after reviewing it in the VAR.
Modric: accompanied by Casemiro and Valverde, the Croatian had to take the lead, but it cost him a lot in the first half, he suffered a lot to make decent conductions and his shipments did not give Madrid depth either. Shakhtar's stupendous defensive intensity left him dry. In the second half he clearly improved and Madrid thanked him; his goal to make it 1-3 was the best of a day to forget. He left the site to Kroos in '70.
Asensio: his first half was very poor. He started on the right, his preferred position, but did not overflow once and barely allowed a blocked shot. He changed places with Rodrygo, but it was for nothing. In the second half he focused his position, especially after the entry of Vinicius, and improved a lot: he helped connect the average with the attack and tried his luck with his powerful left foot. Even so, he must give much more if he wants to be a starter.
Jovic: just a soft head shot in the first half, straight into Trubin's hands. However, Zidane kept him in the second half despite Benzema's entry, but at 15 minutes it was clear that the Serbian painted little or nothing in the game and left his place to Vinicius, who in ten seconds did what he did not could in an hour.
Rodrygo: very bad, without overflow, without edge, without risk … It was the sacrifice of Zidane at halftime for Benzema to enter. The Brazilian lets an important train pass, he is very far from the version he showed a year ago, although the lack of ideas from Madrid in the first half did not help either.
Benzema: He entered 46 'instead of Rodrygo. He automatically drove the Madrid attack, very blunt in the first half, and with it came the white goals. He had a clearing in the small area, but it was at night. It was extinguished with the passage of minutes, did not finish tracing the white patch.
Vinicius: entered 59 'instead of Jovic. He arrived and kissed the saint: he needed just over ten seconds to make 2-3, taking advantage of an oversight by Shakhtar and defining with a pause, what he always missed. He invigorated the Madrid side game with several interesting overflows, although they were not worth to overcome.
Kroos: entered 70 'instead of Modric. It gave fluidity when Madrid were looking for 3-3, but it was not enough.
MADRID 23 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) - Beauty and wellness technology brand Therabody presents its gift…
Christmas is for many the most endearing time of the year. In Spain, this celebration…
Bárbara Rey will set foot on a Telecinco set this Monday (10:00 p.m.) for the…
It's been a difficult weekend for Paloma Cuevas. Luis Miguel's girlfriend remembered her brother this…
There is a pernicious tendency in language that, by dint of repetition, has ended up…
Julia Otero has broadcast this Sunday, December 22, the Extraordinary Draw of State Lotteries and…