Ukrainian Club Shakhtar Donetsk won 4 - 0 Real Sociedad in their Group A match. The home team managed to grab second place - for now - of the Group & get ahead by 1 point over German Club Leverkusen. Sadly the loss by Real Sociedad puts them last on the Group table which eliminates them from the next rounds of Champions League & unfortunately also does not make the Spanish Club eligible for the Europa League competition.
Too many mistakes by the Real Sociedad defence allowing Shakhtar to score relatively easy goals, plus Shakhtar player Douglas exploded mid second half to put on his magic & sink further a demoralized Real Sociedad as they saw their European dream fade out. The goals came in the following manner:
- Luiz Adriano 37th min
- Alex Teixeira 48th min
- Douglas 68th min ( brilliant goal)
- Douglas 87th min
The Ukrainians play their qualification into the next round of Champions gainst Bayern Leverkusen in the last Group game. Shaktar needs a draw or a win , while a win by the Germans puts them through!
Real Madrid hosted fellow Group B Club Galatasaray with the Turks needing a win to keep firm their Champions League hopes. However the final result was a 4 - 1 victory to Real Madrid who ran over Galatasaray in the 2º half with only 10 men as Sergio Ramos saw a red card mid 1ºst half. Galatasaray are third with 4 points with Juventus second with 6 points, & both will meet in the last Group game where only a victory will suffice for Galatasaray. Real Madrid guarantees the top spot of Group B with 4 victories & 1 draw & currently 13 points.
Real Madrid was without Cristiano Ronaldo & this allowed young Jese a run, but that was short lived when Ramos was sent off leaving his team with 10 men. Jese was sacrificed for another youngster defender Nacho.
The game started with Bale missing a "sitter" in the 3rd min which he later made up with a screamer free-kick goal in the 37th min to open things up for the Spanish Club. However, Galatasaray answered immediately after Drogba superbly found Bulut who equalized in the 40th min. Things looked equal at this point with Real Madrid still finding themselves in a disadvantage but the Turks "strangely" disappeared thereafter. They nearly redeemed themselves in the 2º half but Casillas made a huge save from a Drogba header.
The second half saw Di Maria, Isco, Bale, Illara & Xabi Alonso ( on for Casemiro ) all lift in their game with a special mention to defender Arbeloa who "starred" & was pivotal. Alvaro Arbeloa scored the second goal in the 51st min, missed a close one soon after & then set up the third for Di Maria in the 62nd min. The last goal was an Isco "gem" with some class individual dribbling ( plus some luck ) that culminated in his goal & the Real Madrid 4th in the 81st min.
It was an amazing finish from a team down 10 men & surprising to watch the ineffectiveness of Galatasaray under such circumstances. The Turks now play Juventus for the prized second place of Group B were only a victory serves Galatasaray while the Italians have margin to at least go through with a draw.
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