October 12, (THEWILL) – A last-gasp header from Antonio Rudiger in Warsaw broke the hearts of fans of Shakhtar Donetsk, after a 1-1 draw guaranteed Real Madrid a spot in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.
A minute into the second half, Oleksandr Zubkov scored to give the Ukrainian team hope for a sensational outcome on Tuesday. They came perilously close to doubling their lead when Lassina Traore hit the crossbar.
They were left wondering what could have been, had they taken those changes because in the waning moments, Carlo Ancelotti’s team, needing a point to guarantee safe passage to the round of 16, went all-out by switching Antonio Rudiger to a forward position.
The German defender headed past Anatoliy Trubin in the last few seconds of the fixture to prevent what would have been a memorable triumph for the hosts.
Real Madrid next hosts Barcelona in La Liga. In the Ukrainian Premier League, however, Shakhtar Donetsk will host Dynamo Kyiv.
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.
