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R. MADRID 2-SHAKHTAR 3

Real Madrid player ratings after 3-2 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk

A night to forget for Real Madrid at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano. Like the league defeat to Cádiz on Saturday, it's hard to find many positives from this team's performance.

MadridUpdate:
Real Madrid player ratings after 3-2 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk

Real Madrid suffered a shock defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in Group B of the Champions League on Wednesday night. A blistering first half display from the away side gave Los Blancos an uphill battle to climb in the second half. Zidane brought on star forward Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos for some creative spark in the middle but it wasn't to be on the night. Madrid have now suffered back-to-back defeats with many players way off the mark going into El Clásico this weekend.

Here's how the Real Madrid players rated against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Courtois

No goalkeeper will ever be happy conceding three goals but Courtois made some exceptional stops on the night. The Belgian made two one-on-one saves to deny Shakhtar either side of the break. At 3-1 down, he denied Marlos a clear chance and at 4-1 it would have been game over. Could have done better in gifting the ball to Varane which led to the French defender putting it into his own net for 2-0. 6/10

Mendy

Playing on the opposite flank as a right-back takes away his attacking threat. At times he failed to make the right pass, being on his weaker side and put a couple of balls into touch. He also suffered badly from the threat and pace of goalscorer Solomon. For Shakhtar's second goal he let Korniienko slip through him which led to Varane scoring an own goal. 6/10

Militao

Stepped in for Sergio Ramos on the night, a big ask for the young defender. Stopped certain Shakhtar play in behind, showing good positional sense and worked at creating play, coming out with the ball into the Shakhtar half. At 0-3, himself and Varane were nowhere to be seen and Solomon took advantage. 6/10

Varane

A night to forget for the Frenchman, continuing from where he left off on that horrible Champions League night in Manchester. He gave Korniienko all the time in the world, which led to the visitors taking the lead. The second goal of the night came from his own goal (not helped by Courtois' terrible clearance). Shakhtar's electric attack had him all over the shop. 5/10

Marcelo

Mateus and Marlos got the better of him on countless occasions, especially on the break. Did not offer his usual attacking threat. In the second half he played much higher, but without being decisive in the final third. 5/10

Casemiro

Overwhelmed by the Ukrainian counter-attacks, hefailed to offer his usual security in front of the back four and was also poor with his passing. Much better in the second half, helped by the general improvement of the team, and extra pace and movement coming off the bench to stretch the game. 6/10

Valverde

Played through the middle in the first half and was almost non-existent. He started the second half on the right wing and almost ended the game as the hero, making it 3-3, but the referee ruled it out for Vinicius being caught offside, after reviewing it with VAR. 6/10

Modric

Accompanied by Casemiro and Valverde, the Croatian was the most advanced of the midfield three but failed to get to grips with things early on and the Ukrainians were out of sight before Madrid had carved out any real chances. He struggled to make decent forward movement. In the second half he stepped it up with a belter from 30 yards to make it 1-3. The best goal of the night, a rocket into the top corner that gave Trubin in the Shakhtar goal no chance. He was replaced by Toni Kroos in the 70th minute. 6/10

Asensio

Very poor in the first half. He started on the right, his preferred position, but never once got in behind the away defence. He changed places with Rodrygo, but it it came to nothing. In the second half, with the introduction of Vinicius, he improved a lot: he helped connect midfield and attack and tried his luck with a powerful left-footed strike. 6/10

Jovic

Failed with a glorious headed opportunuity in the first half, which went straight into the hands of Trubin. However, Zidane kept him on in the second half despite Benzema appearing right after the half-time break. After 15 minutes it was clear that the Serbian was offering very little was subbed for Vinicius, who in 14 seconds did what he could not do in an hour. 5/10

Rodrygo

For a player who loves the Champions League, he was very quiet on the night. Zidane withdrew him at half-time for Benzema. Looks to be miles from the player he was a year ago, although the lack of ideas from Madrid in the first half did not help him either. 5/10

Benzema

Came on for the second-half in place of Rodrygo. He drove the Madrid attack, and with it came Madrid's two goals. Offered little else after and found it hard to break through a very compact 5-4-1. 6/10

Vinicius

The former Flamengo winger scored the fastest goal by a substitute in UEFA Champions League history - 14 seconds. The previous record was 15 seconds. He made it 2-3 by dazzling through the Shakhtar defence and placing a low drive into the bottom corner to give Trubin no chance. It set Madrid up for a strong final 30 minutes, although his goal proved to be the last of the night. 7/10

Kroos

Came on in place of Modric with twenty minutes remaining on the clock. He gave fluidity to Madrid who were keen to equalise for 3-3, but it was not enough to unlock the tight back five. 5/10