WARSAW (Reuters) - Antonio Rudiger’s header in stoppage time allowed Real Madrid to draw with Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 in the UEFA Champions League game in Warsaw, Poland.
Igor Jovicevic’s team, who lost to Real 2-1 on the road a week ago, played with courage from the first minute. Before the break both teams had problems converting their chances, as the visitors had four attempts on target but Shakhtar’s goalie Anatoliy Trubin didn’t make a single mistake between the posts.
The hosts broke the deadlock just after the break, as Bohdan Mykhaylichenko’s superb cross allowed Oleksandr Zubkov to beat his compatriot Andriy Lunin with a perfect header.
After conceding a goal, the Spanish side speeded up their play to take the possession. Carlo Ancelotti, who rotated the squad, put Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric on the pitch to level the result but Real still couldn’t find an equalizer as Shakhtar defended very well.
In the 86th minute Vinicius Junior should have scored but he missed the target with a header from close range after a good pass from the right wing.
Shakhtar were just seconds from a historic win over Real but in the fifth minute of additional time, Rudiger’s header gave “Los Blancos” one point. The German defender finished Toni Kroos’ cross to head home in dramatic circumstances, colliding heads with Shakhtar goalkeeper Trubin in the fight for the ball.
Rudiger injured his head and left the pitch with blood on his shirt.
After four games, Ancelotti’s side sit at the top of Group F with 10 points. Shakhtar are in third place with five points, one less than RB Leipzig who beat Celtic 2-0 on Tuesday evening.