Real Madrid suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday after being defeated by FC Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Champions League.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men suffered a 1-2 loss at the Santiago Bernabeu as Sheriff struck late to steal the headlines.
The gaffer made changes to the squad that were held by Villarreal over the weekend in the Spanish La Liga with Miguel Gutierrez, Eduardo Camavinga, and Eden Hazard all starting the game.
Despite reports of Andriy Lunin likely to start, Thibaut Courtois was entrusted to be between the sticks for the night.
Jasurbek Yakhshiboev gave visitors the lead in the 25th minute of the game after finding their way past the Madrid backline.
Sheriff had the better of Madrid in the opening 45 minutes though the home side pressed and created most of the chances after conceding the opening goal of the night.
The second half saw a much better performance from the Los Blancos but the away team’s goalkeeper was the hurdle to Real Madrid’s inability to draw level.
However, a foul on Vinicius Junior in the penalty box presented Madrid the opportunity to get back into the game. Karim Benzema made no mistake converting the resulting spot-kick to make it one all.
Ancelotti immediately effected four changes with Rodrygo Goes, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Luka Jovic all entering the frame of action as he searched for the winner.
The substitutions made by the coach saw Federico Valverde and Camavinga play the remainder of the game as the right-back and left-back respectively.
Jovic and Modric all forced fine saves out of the goalkeeper of the opposing team but Madrid’s patience was still being tested.
With just a minute to go until added time, Sébastien Thill scored a well-hit screamer to snatch a surprising win for Sheriff.
Sheriff tops the group with six points from two games while Madrid have three points. Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk have a point each.
Ancelotti will return to the drawing board hoping to correct his mistakes before the club’s next game against Espanyol.
