Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Real Madrid: Player ratings as Rudiger scores last minute equaliser
Antonio Rudiger's last minute goal earned Real Madrid a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw.
Shakhtar had put in a fantastic performance, taking the lead through Oleksandr Zubkov, before a 95th minute header from the German international nabbed a point for Los Blancos.
With their talisman Vinicius Junior confined to the bench, Real Madrid largely struggled to create anything of note in the opening half an hour.
It was the Ukrainians, in fact, who looked the more likely to score in this period, as the home side pushed forward and forced the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernandez into good pieces of defending.
Los Blancos finally started to show some signs of life in the 35th minute when they began to move the ball quicker. Said upping of the tempo resulted in Carlo Ancelotti's first real sight of goal as a nice bit of interplay on the edge of the box led to Karim Benzema having a pop at goal from a tight angle. His shot, however, was well saved by Anatoliy Trubin.
The Shakhar number one was forced into another save a few minutes later, palming a stinging Federico Valverde effort over the crossbar.
At the very start of the second half, the de-facto home team took a shock lead through Oleksandr Zubkov. The right-midfielder stole in unmarked at the back post to head home a brilliant cross from Bohdan Mykhaylichenko.
As expected, Real Madrid dominated possession thereafter, bringing on both Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior in the hope of turning the game. Despite all that possession, it was Shakhar who'd come close to scoring next. A wonderful run by Zubkov culminated in Lassina Traore being played clean through on goal. After seeing his initial shot saved well by Andriy Lunin, the ball fell kindly back to the forward who would see his subsequent chipped effort on goal clip off of the top of the crossbar.
That chance angered Ancelotti so much that he made another three substitutions in search of an equaliser.
It was one of the substitutes that would have a great chance to draw Los Blancos level. Vinicius rose highest inside the six-yard box to get his head on a Lucas Vazquez cross, but could only direct the ball over the crossbar.
Rudiger was next to spurn a chance, heading inches wide of the post in the 92nd minute.
Two minutes later, he got his goal. The ex-Chelsea man got his head on a Kroos cross just before Trubin to knock the ball into the back of the net and earn his side a blush-sparing draw. In the scoring of the goal, Rudiger clashed heads with Trubin, forcing both off of the pitch with their respective injuries.
1. Real Madrid (4-3-3)
GK - Andriy Lunin - 5/10 - Forced into a few good saves by Zubkov and co.
RB - Lucas Vazquez - 4/10 - Failed to provide any real quality in the offensive third.
CB - Antonio Rudiger - 7/10 - Got through a lot more work than he perhaps expected to in the first half. Scored late on to earn a point.
CB - Nacho Fernandez - 6/10 - Looked solid throughout.
LB - Ferland Mendy - 3/10 - Caught napping at the back post for the opening goal.
CM - Toni Kroos - 7/10 - Tidy on the ball but that was about it until added time, when he delivered a fantastic ball into the box to set up Rudiger's goal.
CM - Aurélien Tchouaméni - 4/10 - He didn't show too much. Needed to provide a bit more impetus in midfield than he did. Replace by Modric.
CM - Federico Valverde - 4/10 - Back in the centre of the park, but wasn't able to effect the game in there.
RW - Rodrygo - 4/10 - Really quiet all evening. Just did not get in the game.
ST - Karim Benzema - 4/10 - Has gone off the boil a bit since his injury. Another quiet game for the future Ballon d'Or winner.
LW - Eden Hazard - 3/10 - Nowhere near the player he was a few years ago...but you knew that already.
SUB - Luka Modric - 6/10 - Added some much needed quality in midfield.
SUB - Vinicius Junior - 5/10 - Missed a great chance when he came on.
SUB - David Alaba - N/A.
SUB - Eduardo Camavinga - 4/10 - Quiet when introduced.
SUB - Marco Asensio - 5/10 - Played a few nice balls into the box.