It was to be expected that the 1:2 against Sheriff Tiraspol would put record winners Real Madrid in the media pillory. The gloating that poured down on the Blancos ranged from “embarrassment” to “shock” to the dungeon.
“Shot by the Sheriff” – with this headline “Mundo Deportivo” from – of course – the Catalan Barcelona – reacted to the sensational victory of the Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League at Real Madrid. And the sports paper even brings up a curse that weighs on the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, which has only just reopened after a long reconstruction: because the royals had lost their last game before the Corona pandemic in February 2020 against Manchester City, now they experienced a true humiliation at the hands of the blatant underdog.
The end of the honeymoon with Ancelotti
The Madrid-based “AS” sees the end of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti’s honeymoon at Real, where he only took over the coaching job from Zinedine Zidane in July. Real were “sleepy” up front and not dangerous. A match that Real thought they had already won when the group opponents were drawn ended in “embarrassment”. “Total shock at the Bernabeu. Inexplicable,” commented the editor-in-chief.
AS rival “Marca” found that Real had been “locked in the dungeon” by Tiraspol: “Sheriff left the Bernabéu top of the group when it had finished off its illustrious opponent with two goals. No sympathy for Madrid.”
The underdog had apparently listened to his coach’s words in the build-up to the game and put in a light-hearted, even snotty, performance at the Madrid football temple. “I keep telling my guys: We are already in the Champions League, you have nothing to lose, you can present yourselves on the biggest stage,” Yuri Vernydub had said in an interview with kicker beforehand.
A hero from Luxembourg
A certain Sebastien Thill (27) from Luxembourg, on loan to Tiraspol from FC Progrès Niederkorn in January, made perfect use of this big stage in the 89th minute when he scored the 2-1 with his eye-catching direct shot. “The Luxembourg professional footballer Sebastien Thill scored probably one of the most important goals of his career on Tuesday evening,” immediately wrote the “Tageblatt” from the home country of the match winner.
While the little ones cheered, the big ones stalked off the pitch in consternation. Ancelotti said his team had the necessary intensity, but had lost because of small details. After two games, the Blancos are now second with three points behind Tiraspol (6), while Inter Milan and Shakhtar are both on just one point.
