It took three games but Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored and he seemed to make up for his lack of goal scoring in the past two games by putting five goals past Espanyol. But now Real Madrid face a much tougher opponent in the rugged and dangerous Shakhtar Donetsk.
Form
Real Madrid come into this fixture on a high note after thrashing Espanyol 6-0. Ronaldo had a hatrick in the first twenty minutes and later added two more. Karim Benzema had a goal for Madrid as well. They are now second in La Liga with seven points and are rolling with Ronaldo finally getting on the score sheet and the likes of Gareth Bale and Benzema playing well in support of Ronaldo. The only fixture were they have dropped points this La Liga season was opening day against Sporting Gijon.
Shakhtar, currently second in the Ukrainian league, recently winning their last match 5-0 against Metalist Kharkiv. In terms of European football, they recently got past Rapid Wien in the third round of UCL qualifying as they had to comeback to draw Rapid and got past on aggregate. This came after a 2-0 defeat against Dnipro and advancing to the group stage will give Shaktar some confidence heading into the season. They will have to be on their top game as Real Madrid will be the toughest opponent they have faced in this season so far.
Key players
The key players for Madrid will be Isco and Gareth Bale. With James Rodriguez ruled out for a while with a leg injury, the pressure of being an attacking midfielder will fall on Isco. After Real struggled without James last year, it will be up to Isco to prevent a similar result for Madrid. He certainly has the talent and show Rafa Benetiz that he deserves to be in the starting lineup.
Bale will also be key to Madrid's attack. After a tough season last year, Bale has rebounded well so far. This fixture will be another big game for Bale as he can show on a bigger stage that he belongs at Real Madrid.
Shakhtar's man to watch will be Alex Teixeira. After being tied for the lead for the most goals in the Ukranian league last season, the Brazilian has gotten off to a flying start. He has nine goals in seven appearances and will look to take advantage of a Real Madrid back line that can be inconsistent at the most unfortunate times. With Douglas Costa gone to Bayern Munich, Teixeira represents Shaktar's biggest offensive threat.
Team news
Star midfielder James Rodriguez has been ruled out for a month with a torn thigh muscle. New right back Danilo is also nursing a foot injury.
Shaktar will be coming in on a high note after losing only once in the last 11 matches throughout all competitions.
What they're saying
When asked about Real's 6-0 win, Luka Modric had this to say :
"We won, but now we must think about the Champions League and the match against Shakhtar"
The midfielder knows how important is that Madrid come in with the right mindset as Shakhtar will be a much tougher opponent than Espanyol.
Gareth Bale also knows how important his contribution to this Madrid is and is happy that he is playing well on the field :
"I feel like I am more involved this year now" said the Wales winger as he looks to break down a gritty Shakhtar defense
These two sides love to play on the counter using their pace and cool finishing to exploit opposition's defense, this should be a tight affair with Real Madrid coming out on top.