Why shouldn’t Shakhtar be praised for playing for Madrid?

1:2 is a worthwhile defeat in any case. In any case, this is a defeat with a mutual chance of success. And this is such a defeat, after which the loser can rightfully complain about fate.

However, starting from a specific case, this is still a defeat that did not bring a single tournament point. And to put it mildly, because the scenario of the match in Madrid was not in our favor from the very beginning. And to be perfectly honest and fair, Shakhtar’s final score at the Bernabeu can most accurately be described as “kickback”.

“Truth” was expected to be stronger. “Truth” outperformed our champion, as expected. Real Madrid, as expected, created many more scoring chances and scored many more shots on target. A Benzema can score at least three goals. And the correct shooting ratio is 13:3.

Real Madrid could not be stopped in the first match of both halves. Yes, and at their end too. In principle, Real Madrid was stronger than their opponent throughout the match.

Accurate hit stats are mentioned above. If we take into account all the shots – and the wrong ones, Madrid scored 36 goals and the Orange-Blacks – 11 goals.

Shakhtar’s xG (expected goals) is 0.82, while Real Madrid’s is 3.84. Why “creamy” did not score more than two goals – the answer is very simple. The two main reasons are the mistake in the final stage of the attack (hello, future Ballon d’Or winner) and Anatoly Trubin.

The Donetsk goalkeeper became the best player of Pitmen, according to almost all major statistics portals. If our young goalkeeper had not played with such confidence, defeat would not have been avoided.

In general, we can say that Real Madrid naturally defeated Shakhtar. The miracle did not happen. And based on the actual balance of power this is highly unlikely to happen.

So in this context, I personally don’t find it right to exalt the importance of minimal defeat for Pitmen’s success. Because, as stated above, it’s still a defeat. And it looks more like our luck than our merit in the game.

But in reality everything is not as bad as it seems. This is if we talk about a particular match in Madrid and the Pitmen’s expectations in their group.

You can call the current Champions League game of the Jovicevich team whatever you want, but even the “exhausted” Dynamo Kyiv fan cannot call it indifferent or empty. With its motivation, attitude, character, location and skill, this team is in perfect order. I am sure this situation will continue.

To compete on equal terms with the current winner of the Champions Cup, the available options alone are not enough. And there is nothing you can do about it: you just have to accept this thesis. And don’t make sand castles. But it is also necessary to fight. Maybe it will fly and suddenly you are lucky.

Frankly, I look at the rematch between Ancelotti and Jovicic with extreme optimism. It seems to me that the “creamy” will try to solve the problem of leaving the group in advance. And from the very beginning. Therefore, they will not miss theirs in Poland either.

Most likely it will. And you can’t really hang on to it. Real Madrid in our group is truly a royal club. Literally and figuratively. It is useless for any team of our quartet to compete with him. This showed an overall and fleeting first lap.

But at least Shakhtar can and should fight for second place in the group. The class difference between the three competitors for second or third place is minimal. The opponents are in some ways superior to the Ukrainian team, in some ways the Ukrainian team is superior to their opponents.

That’s why I think the real test for Pitmen, the real benchmark, will begin in the last two rounds of the Champions League. This is where you need to draw blood from the nose glasses. Get yours.

And you need to find out in the matches against Real Madrid. You should try. You have to show character. And no need to hang your nose if it doesn’t work – we are still a long way from the “cosmic” level, though.

Nevertheless, our team should be thanked for playing at the Bernabeu. The men did everything they could. Considering the motivation and Real Madrid, it was not worth expecting more from them.

So everything is fine. Go on. No praise.

But in the hope of a European Cup spring.