Real Madrid think about round of 16 on the night Sevilla humbled Lopetegui
Real Madrid received the visit of Shakhtar at the Bernabeu after the bitter draw in La Liga against Osasuna. Ancelotti's men continue on the path of not complicating games and always finding the net. Vinicius, Benzema and Rodrygo are one of the most dangerous tridents in Europe.
The two Brazilians shared the goals in one-touch moves with the collaboration of other guest stars such as Tchouaméni and Valverde. Quick passes, precise combinations and a ballroom dance that left the Ukrainian defence on the verge of a goal.
On the half-hour mark the game was 2-0 to Real Madrid, but Zubkov hooked a fine volley inside the box past Lunin to pull one back in the 39th minute. Courtois was still out and Real Madrid's Ukrainian goalkeeper had a good game against his compatriots.
The first half was over and almost the game. In the second half, Real Madrid had a hard time with some of Shakthar's attacks, but nothing that Militao and Alaba couldn't deal with. Camavinga and Asensio were Ancelotti's changes in a game that was languishing in the background because Madrid are almost a team for the last 16 and the Ukrainians have to fight with Leipzig for that second place that would put them in the Champions League again.
The best thing for Real Madrid is that doing their homework in October leaves their coach free to manage the 270 minutes of Champions League football that the club has left before the group stage comes to a close. This is very important for the World Cup break in November.
While Real Madrid beat Shakhtar, the night in Seville was much more unhappy for the fans and for Lopetegui himself. Between Monchi and Pepe Castro they hatched a macabre plan to allow the coach who has led them to the Champions League three seasons in a row and given them another Europa League to coach the team while his sacking awaited him already drawn up on an office desk.
Dortmund swept Sevilla 4-1 with Bellingham and Guerreiro showing Sevilla's backers that their plan to sell stars and not sign in return was a blatant mistake. Lopetegui's departure had been in the air since August. On the evening of the last night, Monchi came out to applaud the Basque coach on his farewell to the Pizjuán while glancing at his mobile phone to make sure that Sampaoli's plane had landed in Portugal and was on its way to the capital by car.
The disproportionate demands of the Sevillian fans towards their club have led to this kind of absurdity. The war between Del Nido and Pepe Castro has taken its toll and Monchi is not the magician he used to be.
Now comes Sampaoli, the coach who decided to spend his last games as Sevilla coach five years ago more focused on coaching Messi with Argentina than on managing the club that paid him. The one who soon left the team and who now demands two years on his contract.
Sampaoli's new Sevilla will only be able to fight with Copenhagen for the third place in the group that will give them access to the Europa League. En-Nesyri and Bono are playing for their presence in Morocco and depend on the minutes that their new coach wants to give them to be at the World Cup in Qatar.
The Champions League night was settled with another City goal thanks to Haaland's goals. PSG could only draw with Benfica after Messi's goal. Chelsea thrashed Milan and Juventus settled their future in Europe thanks to Di Maria's goal against Haifa.