Real Madrid looking for their second win of the group stage after falling to FC Sheriff Tiraspol in their last game faced Shakhtar Donestk in Ukraine looking for a bounce-back performance.
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A tight but competitive first half
The start of the match began as always with both teams getting a feel for each other and it was Real Madrid with the first shot of the game at the 3rd minute but Karim Benzema shot went wide.
Minutes later it was Vinicius Jr with the first shot on target but Anatoily Trubin who got the start in goal for Shakhtar made the first big save of the game. Real Madrid was pressing looking for the early goal but Trubin stood tall and was keeping his team in the game.
The home side had their chances as well but could not get past the defense and get a shot on goal thanks to the solid work of Ferland Mendy who made his return to the starting 11 after coming back from injury.
Toni Kroos got in on the action in the 30th minute getting a quick shot on goal but straight into the hands of Trubin. Benzema opened the scoring in the 38th minute when he was able to tip the ball with his foot past Trubin to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
It was actually marked as an own goal scored by Serhiy Kryvtsov and Real Madrid continued to apply the pressure and managed two more deadly shots on target but Trubin saved both of them.
The referee blew the whistle and the first half came to and with Real Madrid hanging on to a 1-0 lead.
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Real Madrid dominates the second half
Real Madrid doubled their lead early in the second half five minutes in as Vinicius Jr got a great pass from Benzema and beat Trubin one on one with a quick shot that went past him into the back of the net.
Thibaut Courtois came up with a big save in the 55th minute to keep his clean sheet alive with a great diving save. On the ensuing play, Vinicius Jr scored his second goal of the game beating Trubin with a high shot to make it 3-0 for the visitors.
Rodrygo scored 10 minutes later to make it 4-0 getting a great pass from Benzema again and beating Trubin with another great shot. Minutes later Courtois was put back into action and made two huge saves using his hand on the first one and another diving save on the second.
Carlo Ancelotti made his first change in the 69th minute bringing in Marcelo for Ferland Mendy. Benzema who was still looking for his first goal was denied once again on the following play by Trubin.
In the 77th minute, Real Madrid made three changes bringing on Marco Asensio, Federico Valverde, and Eduardo Camavinga for Rodrygo, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos.
Almost 10 minutes later the visitors made another change bringing in Jesus Vallejo for Eder Militao. Three minutes of added time were added to the 90 minutes and a minute later Benzema made it 5-0 beating Trubin with a powerful shot that went between his legs.
The final whistle blew and Real Madrid had come away with a big win and a valuable three points.
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Coaches reaction
After the match in his post-match press conference, Ancelotti was pleased with his team's performance.
" "We defended well, We were focused on the match from the start. We applied our strategy of not pressing too much upfront. We waited because they are dangerous on the counter. It's a match that will give us confidence "
The win puts Real Madrid in a tie for first place in the group with six points with FC Sheriff Tiraspol after they suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Inter Milan.
Real Madrid will face Shakhtar once again in two weeks in the next round of fixtures, but this time in Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.