About two months ago Sheriff surprised Madrid and the whole football worls with a great win in Santioago Bernabeu. On Wednesday it was the time for Madridistas to see the triumph and so happened. Real Madrid got the better of Sheriff at the Tiraspol Stadion to book their place in the Champions League Round of 16.
Alaba, Kroos and Benzema were the goal scorers as Ancelotti's side stormed to a fifth win on the bounce, three away from home, and will now play for top spot in the group on the final day. They will qualify as group winners provided they don't lose to Inter at the Santiago Bernabéu on 7 December.
Our team turned the game well in their favour in the opening 45 minutes, netting two goals and creating plenty of chances to score more. The first dangerous move came with 18 minutes on the clock when Carvajal's drilled cross was met by Rodrygo in the box, but Athanasiadis did well to keep him out.
Five minutes later, the Brazilian whipped in a cross for Benzema, but the Frenchman’s header flew over the crossbar. It seemed only a matter of time before the visitors would open the scoring, and so it proved with half-an-hour on the clock, as Alaba smashed in a free-kick which took a flick off Cristiano on its way into the back of the net.
The goal gave Real Madrid real impetus as they began to dominate play under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti from the sidelines. The visitors continued to carve out chances and on 41’ Ferland Mendy’s cross to the back post found Dani Carvajal, and the full-back’s volley missed the crossbar by millimetres. In first-half stoppage time, they did manage to double their lead and the goal came in some style. Luka Modrić, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. linked up sensationally on the edge of the box before the ball was squared to Toni Kroos and the German superbly curled the ball in off the underside of the bar and over the line.
After the re-start, the Whites came out fired up and in the 55th minute they made it 0-3. Karim Benzema collected the ball on the edge of the area after it was laid off to him by Mendy and the Frenchman riffled the ball into the bottom corner. The hosts came close to reducing the deficit with three consecutive shots, but Traore’s acrobatic effort was well punched away by Courtois and seconds after S.
Thill’s cross bounced back off the Madrid post. Real Madrid controlled the game from then on and almost added another goal on 88’. Marco Asensio’s effort from inside the area forced Athanasiadis into a fine save and one minute later he denied Benzema. At the end there was no time for surprises and Real Madrid got a well deserved victory keeping the 1st place securing the round of 16.
Carlo Ancelotti appeared in the media room at the Sheriff Stadion following Real Madrid's victory in Tiraspol and praised his team’s performance. He said: “It was a good, disciplined performance, we competed well and showed our quality. We looked strong defensively, we didn't take any risks, particularly early on”.
“I'm pleased, we've qualified from the group. There's one game to go and we want to win it to finish top. Alaba got a slight sprain in his knee but it's nothing to worry about because he's not in a lot of pain. He looks okay and we hope he'll be able to play on Sunday”, he added.
About Casemiro and his importance for the last group match: “Casemiro and I spoke because he told me he was on a warning and didn't want to get booked. I waited a little bit and then took him off to avoid him picking up a suspension for the Inter game”.
Competitive edge: “I've been saying since the start of the season that this team can compete. Now things are going well, we're on a good run and showing our quality in every area of the pitch. We have done a good job in the group, we've only lost one game. The team was completely different to the one we saw in the first game, tonight we were a disciplined side who play some good football".
Changes: “I brought Mendy off because he'd picked up a card, Carvajal because he's been out and Alaba because he had a bit of an issue. I had two more substitutions and Casemiro was on a warning, so I took him off, and then Rodrygo was coming back from injury and it could have been a risk to leave him out there. The rest of the guys are fine and we're playing Sunday night, we've got plenty of time to recover well".
On Toni Kroos: “If Kroos is fit then the manager can relax. When he’s on the pitch he uses the ball like nobody else and as I said before the three players (Modrić, Casemiro and Kroos) combine amazingly. He’s also scored goals in recent games and he’s playing really well”.
On Benzema: “We haven’t spoken, but he’s relaxed. It’s something that was spoken about some time ago. The player is totally focussed on his job. He seems calm and he played really well today”.
Rodrygo: “He played well, he was very sharp up front and had chances. He was dangerous on the right wing and linked up very well with Modrić. For me, he’s just as important as the other players. He’s very young and, like the others, has a lot of quality”.
Formations: “We usually have three players on the wings. If Rodrygo pulls wide, then Modrić plays through the space and the full-back pushes forward. In these types of games we have to control the middle more and sometimes the wings. It also depends on the opposition’s characteristics. It’s slightly different on the left because Kroos doesn’t go too far forward, so Vini stays more out wide, Mendy goes into the space”.
Nacho: “He’s been doing really well. He’s got a few games under his belt. At times he hasn’t played, but he always demonstrates true professionalism. He deserves to play, like others do, but I know I can always count on him”.
Meanwhile, Toni Kroos was named man of the match in the meeting between Real Madrid and Sheriff at the Tiraspol Stadion. The German delivered a superb performance both in attack and defence, topping it off with a superb strike to net the team's second goal. The team move involving Modrić, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr., was like clockwork and the midfielder's curling finish from the edge of the box was simply exquisite.
Following the final whistle, Kroos stated: "I feel good, just like the team. I'm just another cog. If the team is working well, it makes it much easier for me. I try to play my game and it's going well, but individual accolades don't really interest me, it's more about the win and the team's performance. We struggled a bit in the first 15 or 20 minutes, but after that we controlled the game well, created chances and scored three goals at good times. It was a well-deserved victory. We’re pleased to make it through".
Variety in attack: "We train to perform well in the matches and lately you can see that we’ve been doing well. The coach sometimes wants us midfielders to shoot if it isn't working with the crosses because we have to provide other options. The fact that we can all score makes it difficult for the opposition. We have to keep going because we’ve got some tough games coming up and it's a good spell, but we haven’t won anything yet ".
Tough fixture calendar: "If you know you're playing against good teams, you know you have to be motivated because otherwise you lose. We are in good shape physically. It's only November and we have to be fit".
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