BEVERLY HILLS, October 27, (THEWILL) – Casemiro scored late in injury time to drag Real Madrid from a most embarrassing defeat to a 2-2 draw from a Champions League clash with Borussia Monchengladbach. It was a match that had all the trappings of a serious setback for Zinedine Zidane’s men but for that late late strike.
The visitors arrived at Borussia Park boosted by a 3-1 Clasico victory over perennial domestic rivals Barcelona but were immediately haunted by the same calamitous defending that saw them lose their Group B opener against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
Madrid German central midfielder Toni Kroos ended a dreary opening 28 minutes with a fiery, curling 25-yard shot that stung the palms of Gladbach goalkeeper the Swiss Yann Sommer, who could only push it around the post.
Five minutes later the hosts were ahead. French forward Alassane Plea spotted the free Marcus Thuram advancing into the box and found him with a guided pass that his compatriot met with a stunning first-time finish into the top corner of the net. Thibaut Courtois, in Madrid’s goal, never had a chance.
Madrid started the second half trailing and quickly rallied. Brazilian midfielder Casemiro headed a Kroos corner wide early and Vinicius Junior ballooned over the crossbar from 12 yards when Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde did well to play him in.
Shockingly, Madrid left cracks at the defence available to exploit. That was what happened. There was chaos in the ranks when Plea again received the ball unmarked in the box. His first-time shot could only be parried by Courtois and that man, the goal-scorer Thuram, was there to gratefully tuck the rebound home from close range.
Courtois was called to action later to deny Plea a goal of his own one-on-one as Madrid appeared to lose all control.
It took the introduction of Croatian central midfielder Luka Modric and Belgian left winger Eden Hazard for Madrid to regain some composure.
Hazard lashed a shot into the side-netting 16 minutes from time even as the hosts piled on the pressure in search of a third. Then, three minutes from regulation time, Benzema found the net with an exquisite overhead kick from a Casemiro header to set up a tense finish.
The late Madrid rally paid off when three minutes into added time, Luca Modric’s looping cross was headed down by imperial Spanish defender Sergio Ramos, for Casemiro to net the equaliser from six yards out.
Madrid start to this season’s UEFA competition has been off the pace. To balance the rocking boat, nothing but outright victories will be expected of Los Blancos in forthcoming home fixtures against Huesca and Inter. If not, French manager Zinedine Zidane will find himself under considerable pressure at a club where European success is the standard fare.
However, credit must go to Gladbach who possessed the poise and initiative to take advantage of Madrid’s sloppiness in defence. Thuram scored with both of the shots he attempted and made a key pass as his side almost pulled off a memorable win.
Real Madrid, as noted above, welcome Huesca to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu ahead of Inter’s visit three days later. Gladbach play hosts to RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga before travelling to Ukraine to contest against Group leaders Shakhtar Donetsk.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
