ZINEDINE ZIDANE is under increasing pressure after Real Madrid suffered a shock defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk. The Galacticos are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League after the 13-time winners went down 2-0 in Ukraine. Madrid went into the clash with just one point from their last three games in La Liga. And […]
ZINEDINE ZIDANE is under increasing pressure after Real Madrid suffered a shock defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Galacticos are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League after the 13-time winners went down 2-0 in Ukraine.
Madrid went into the clash with just one point from their last three games in La Liga.
And the misfiring Los Blancos gained no respite from that miserable run in Europe.
It remained goalless at the break but the game burst into life courtesy of Shakhtar sub Dentinho just before the hour mark.
The hosts sprung forward and caught Madrid napping on the counter-attack.
But Rafael Varane failed to clear the danger, and he could only poke the ball into the path of Dentinho, and he made no mistake.
That sprung Madrid into action, but the likes of Karim Benzema and Luka Modric were unable to find a way through the tough Shakhtar backline.
And they paid the price for their lack of cutting edge late on when they conceded a second.
Manor Solomon cut inside his marker on the edge of the box and fired a low shot into the corner to seal a famous win.
That result left Madrid third in Group B going into the final round of matches next week – when they take on table-topping Monchengladbach.
Real have now only recorded one win in their last six games in all competitions.
And it could be the end of Zidane’s second tenure in charge if they fail to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in 24 years.
