Opportunity to seal the pass of a bipolar Madrid

At Kiev Olympic, scene of that ‘thirteenth’ that had so much impact with the frightened of Cristiano Ronaldo and the departure and subsequent return of Zinedine Zidane to rescue a team that was sinking without the two totems that championed their triennium of ‘orejonas’ without brake, Real Madrid seeks to seal the pass to the round of 16 of the Champions League with a victory against Shakhtar Donetsk that would allow him to cross a bar that was put uphill at the beginning of the group stage, when he succumbed in an unexpected way against the Ukrainian team at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium, but that now he has at hand after giving the chest ‘do’ in San Siro.

The correlation of forces in group B has been notably altered since that October 21, when Luis Castro’s team attacked the merengue fiefdom with three goals in a first half full of nonsense by the local squad. The agonizing draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach and the double win against Inter Milan have left Real Madrid one step away from grabbing their twenty-fourth consecutive ticket for the first round of playoffs, while Shakhtar lost steam.

The Ukrainian side drew a draw with Inter on matchday two, but was beaten in his double cross with Mönchengladbach, forcing him to score at least one point against Real Madrid to stay alive. Whites, meanwhile, would be mathematically classified in case of winning and they would play the first place next week at home against the German squad. A draw would also allow them to depend on themselves to reach the round of 16, but a defeat would lead them to a limit situation, even on points with Shakhtar although with the two direct duels lost.

Benzema returns

A horizon in which they do not even want to think about the ‘white house’, where nursing and irregularity continue to focus all analyzes. Because after surrendering San Siro, Madrid returned to show its worst side last Saturday against Alavés, unable to overcome a game that got ugly from the start and in which it was once again the victim of large errors. Washing the bad image that he left in that last league appearance will be another of the challenges in Kiev for Zidane’s block, used to clawing at the finest tessitura.

He will have to do it once more overcoming the extensive list of absentees with which the white expedition traveled. Sergio Ramos, Carvajal, Odriozola, Valverde and Hazard are still out due to physical problemss, while Jovic remains isolated by coronavirus. Benzema returns, recovered from his hip discomfort, but his initial entry raises doubts because he has been out for three weeks and the size of the next appointments, with Sevilla and Atlético as the next rivals in the League, invites caution. If Zidane opts for caution with his compatriot, Mariano will have continuity at the top. Rodrygo is emerging as a replacement for Hazard to try to prolong his love affair with the Champions League, a competition in which he has scored six goals in seven shots on goal since wearing white. “It’s another final,” proclaimed Zidane.

Hopeful for the victory at Di Stéfano but very pressured by their situation, Shakhtar arrives, in which the ravages of the coronavirus and a hectic calendar have taken their toll. Second place in the Ukrainian league, the ‘miner’ team comes from beating Dnipro-1 with a goal from Brazilian Tete in the final stretch. A game in which his coach gave rest to key pieces of his squad such as the veteran goalkeeper Pyatov, the midfielder Stepanenko or the forward Júnior Moraes, his top gunner of the past season, thinking about the transcendental stake with Real Madrid. The three starters are outlined against the whites as well as midfielder Patrick, who was not in Valdebebas a month ago.

Luis Castro, the experienced Portuguese coach who led the Donbas region team to the semi-finals of the Europa League last season, will give a twist to the strategy with which he surprised Real Madrid a month ago and is convinced of that his pupils They are in a position to give the bell again.