(Football news) Former Real Madrid player and President Santiago Bernabeu once famously said “The Real Madrid shirt is white. It can stain of mud, sweat and even of blood, but never of shame!” and yesterday Antonio Rudiger proved it by sacrificing himself to get a last minute equaliser. Los Blancos drew 1-1 against Shakhtar Donetsk in what was a frustrating day for them. Carlo Ancelotti rested Eder Militao, David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Vinicius Jr for the game. Real Madrid had control of the ball for the majority of the game but just couldn't test the opposition goalkeeper.
Real Madrid had 10 shots in total and 5 on target but the majority of them were tame efforts. Things became more complicated for them when Oleksandr Zubkov scored just after the start of the 2nd half. The Merengues despite bringing on Modric and Vinicius were not able to play between the lines. Towards the end of the game Antonio Rudiger started playing as an emergency forward just like Sergio Ramos back in the day. Toni Kroos played two beautiful crosses for him out of which the first one was just wide. The second one was in the last minute of added time and it went in but at some cost. Rudiger collided with Shakhtar goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin after which he was heavily bleeding from head.
The goal secured a point for Real Madrid which made them the 2nd team after Manchester City to qualify for the Round of 16. This was Real Madrid's 31st UCL season and they have qualified for the knockouts every single time. Rudiger, Nacho and Kroos were the best players on the pitch. Toni Kroos had an amazing overall game both defensively and offensively. Nacho showed his quality and proved that he can be relied upon. Rudiger in true sense bled for a point and even after that wanted to get back on the pitch to defend the final few seconds before Ancelotti stopped him. According to reports the German has more than 20 stitches on forehead which means that he is a big doubt for the El Clasico on the weekend.
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