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Manor Solomon Ends Casemiro During Shakhtar’s 3-Goal First-Half Blitz Of Real Madrid

It’s not the Santiago Bernabéu, but nobody goes to the home of Real Madrid (temporarily Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano) and puts three past the 13-time European champions INSIDE 42 MINUTES!

After losing 1-0 to Cádiz last Saturday, many predicted a performance of pure vengeance from Los Blancos in the Champions League — a feeling that was amplified by the fact that Shakhtar’s starting lineup was rocked by a combination of injury and illness, including a positive coronavirus test for star forward Júnior Moraes.

But Real manager Zinedine Zidane rang in the changes himself by placing Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos on the bench while captain Sergio Ramos sat this one out with an injury. Still, you don’t expect a spine that includes Thibaut Courtois, Raphaël Varane and Casemiro to crumble like this.

The first half beatdown began in the 29th minute after Viktor Korniyenko skipped around a weak challenge from Éder Militão and fed Tetê for the finish.

Four minutes later, some more weak defending forced Courtois into a save, but the rebound was inadvertently turned home by Varane.  

Finally, three minutes before halftime, 21-year-old Israeli Manor Solomon made it 3-0 after dicing Rodrygo, sending Casemiro to the floor (!) and exchanging passes with Tetê. There's nothing like finishing a flowing move with a backheel assist.     

At the time of writing, Luka Modrić had pulled one back for Real in fine Luka Modrić style and Vinícius Júnior made it 3-2.

Update: Shakhtar wins 3-2! Next up for Real is a trip to Germany to play Gladbach on Oct. 27.

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