KYIV (Ukraine), Oct 20: Vinícius Júnior scored twice, including a wondrous solo goal, to lead Real Madrid to a 5-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk and put its Champions League campaign back on track on Tuesday.
This was Carlo Ancelotti’s team at its potent best after an embarrassing defeat in the previous European match by newcomer Sheriff in between a draw and loss in the Spanish league.
Madrid’s lead was bolstered in the 37th minute when Shakhtar captain Sergiy Kryvtsov turned a cross by Lucas Vazquez into his own net.
Vinícius Júnior lit up the start of the second half by clipping the ball over goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in the 51st after Luka Modric slipped a pass through after being teed up by Karim Benzema.
Vinícius Júnior was on target again five minutes later, cutting past Dodô and then Kryvtsov in the penalty area before striking into the net.
He then set up fellow Brazilian Rodrygo to strike into the net in the 64th. Benzema completed the rout in stoppage time after getting on the end of Marco Asensio’s cross.
Madrid, the 13-time European champion, moved up to second place in Group D on six points. Sheriff remains in the lead, based on the head-to-head with Madrid, despite losing 3-1 at Inter Milan.
Inter Milan vs Sherriff
Edin Džeko scored one goal and set up another as Inter Milan finally kick-started its Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Sheriff on Tuesday.
Džeko scored the opener and then set up Arturo Vidal for Inter’s second, shortly after Sébastien Thill had equalized for Sheriff. Stefan de Vrij all but sealed Inter’s first win of this season’s Champions League in the 67th minute.
Sheriff remained top of Group D, level on six points with Real Madrid, but above the 13-time European champion because of the Moldovan league club’s surprise victory when the two met in the last round. Inter is two points further back and three above Shakhtar Donetsk.
“We are still in it,” Džeko said. “It was like a knockout match for us, we really had to win it. The three points are very important.
Sporting vs Besiktas
Sebastian Coates waited years to score his first Champions League goal but only 12 minutes for the next one, a near-exact copy.
The Sporting Lisbon captain scored two headers in almost identical circumstances and won a penalty for good measure, as he led his team to a 4-1 win against Besiktas in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Uruguayan defender Coates was left unmarked in front of goal to head in when Pedro Goncalves’ corner was flicked on by Goncalo Inacio at the near post in the 15th minute. Canadian forward Cyle Larin equalized for Besiktas nine minutes later.
Sporting restored the lead in the 27th with Coates’ second header, from the same position. Later, Besiktas captain Domagoj Vida put his arm in the way of a header and gave away a penalty converted by Pablo Sarabia.
Paulinho finally scored the fourth with a curling shot in the 89th. (AP)
