Madrid (Spain): There were mixed results for Spanish clubs in the Champions League as Real Madrid won 2-1 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, but Sevilla lost 4-1 at home to Borussia Dortmund.
Real Madrid raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half on Wednesday night, thanks to an excellent goal from Rodrygo in the 13th minute after a good pass from Aurelien Tchouameni.
Vinicius Jr. doubled Real Madrid’s lead in the 28th minute after linking up with Karim Benzema, and it looked like Shakhtar were in for a long night. However, Oleksandr Zubkov pulled a goal back in the 39th minute with a smart volley following a cross from the left.
The second half saw Shakhtar try to get back on level terms, while Real Madrid defended with relative ease, but failed to add a third goal that would have put the game to bed.
Real Madrid have three wins from three group matches and have all but ensured their place in the knockout stage of the competition, reports Xinhua.
Sevilla went into their game with the press speculating over the future of coach Julen Lopetegui after a bad start to the season and things went wrong from the start.
Raphael Guerreiro put Dortmund ahead in just the sixth minute after good work from England international Jude Bellingham, who doubled the lead himself in the 41st minute after skipping through the home defense and poking the ball home.
Two minutes later it became 3-0 when Karim Adeyemi took advantage of a magnificent touch from Youssoufa Moukoko to beat Sevilla goalkeeper Bono.
Sevilla were booed off at the break but showed personality in the second half as Youssef En-Nesyri pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute.
The Spanish side had chances to get back into the match but failed to take them, and Julian Brandt ensured the win for the visitors with a looping header 15 minutes from time.
The defeat leaves Sevilla with one point from three games in the group stage.
–IANS