Ukrainian soccer champion Shakhtar Donetsk has beaten renowned Spanish champion Real Madrid 3-2 in Madrid during a UEFA Champions League match on Oct. 21.
The result came as a shock to soccer fans around the world, with the Ukrainian side forced to play with its youth squad after most of the team’s starting lineup was stricken with COVID-19.
On Oct. 4, Shakhtar’s two main players – veteran goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov and midfielder Taras Stepanenko – tested positive for COVID-19. Four days later, a total of 18 people – nine players and nine staff members –also contracted the novel coronavirus.
Even though all players received a negative test before the match against Real Madrid, the team decided to keep the recently recovered players in Kyiv.
“None of the players who had coronavirus will play against Real,” said Shakhtar’s head coach Luis Castro before the game.
In total, six players from the starting lineup didn’t take part in the game because of COVID-19 and two more were injured earlier, leading the fans to fear for the worst.
As a result, Shakhtar’s starting lineup featured seven players below the age of 21, while two players who appeared as the late-game substitutes made their professional debut.
However, these events prompted Real Madrid not to use a few of their main players, keeping them on the bench. That backfired.
In the 29th minute, 20-year old Brazilian winger Tete opened the score for Shakhtar. Four minutes later, Real’s French star Raphael Varane deflected the ball into his own net, giving the Ukrainian side a 2-0 lead.
Before half time, 21-year-old Israeli winger Manor Solomon made the score 3-0 for Shakhtar.
After the break, Real Madrid made substitutes and began to regain momentum. Fifteen minutes into the second half, the score was already 3-2. Shakhtar’s luck faded with the team missing two golden opportunities to score.
First, Tete couldn’t finish a one-on-one encounter with Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and later Ukrainian-Brazilian star Marlos scored only to see the goal denied because of the offside.
On the last minute of play, Real Madrid tied the game at three. But, after reviewing the play the Video Assistant Referee, disallowed the goal because of the offside.
Shakhtar’s victory is the first Ukrainian win over 13-time Champions League winner Real Madrid since 1999, when Dynamo Kyiv beat Real Madrid in the tournament’s quarter-finals only to lose in the semi-finals to German Bayern Munich.
“As I said before, I have always dreamed of playing against Real Madrid. I played for them in video games, so I’m just thrilled I scored,” said Tete after the game.
This is the second time Spain faced defeat from a COVID-hit Ukraine soccer team in ten days.
The Ukrainian national team — without five Shakhtar players, who are the team’s starters — defeated Spain 1-0 in the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League in Kyiv on Oct. 13. This was the first time Ukraine had won over Spain’s national team.
