A bevy of goals, rash conclusions and wildly fluctuating opinions: Yep, football is well and truly back.
In Spain, the international break that arrived after just two rounds of action in La Liga gave the new season a sort of false-start feel, but the domestic league's return over the weekend reminded us of football's love affair with hasty judgements.
Just three weeks ago Real Madrid couldn't score, or so they said, Rafa Benitez was too defensive, his new system wasn't working, Gareth Bale's new position was all wrong and the whole thing at the Bernabeu was just months away from Armageddon.
"Five barren games under Benitez," cried Marca after a scoreless draw with Sporting Gijon, the Madrid-based daily bemoaning an "alarming lack of cutting edge" and a record in front of goal that made for "worrying reading." Just 20 days later, after consecutive 5-0 and 6-0 thrashings of Real Betis and Espanyol, Marca was celebrating a "BBC goal glut," Real Madrid's "outgunning" of Barcelona, the way Bale "purred creatively" and the merits of Benitez's affection for "rotation, rotation, rotation."
What a difference, well, 11 goals make, huh?
Somewhere amongst all this, though, the old saying that "things are never as good, nor as bad as they seem"—something this column has attempted to stress—is being lost in all the noise.
The return of the Champions League on Tuesday, then, comes at a nice time for Real Madrid. In welcoming Shakhtar Donetsk to the Bernabeu, Los Blancos, and those who monitor them, will get a better indication of where this team is at under Benitez. A clash against a Champions League regular is likely to be a significantly sterner test than those put forward by Sporting, Betis and Espanyol—three clubs likely to be in La Liga's relegation fight all season.
It's also important for Real to make a strong start to this year's edition of the continental competition. Drawn in Group A with Paris Saint-Germain, Madrid face a strong battle for group supremacy in a way they didn't last season, when they drew Liverpool, Basel and Ludogorets at this same stage. Additionally, Shakhtar have often proved themselves to be a real handful at home, making it imperative for Benitez's men to take all three points from this first meeting at the Bernabeu.
For the visitors, meanwhile, this encounter is one of four against Real Madrid and PSG in which they'll hope to cause a few surprises in a bid to make Group A more than just a two-horse race.
Domestically, the Ukrainians have made a strong start with five victories from seven games and scoring 17 goals in the process, all despite the summer departures of attacking pair Douglas Costa and Luiz Adriano to Bayern Munich and AC Milan, respectively.
In Europe, Mircea Lucescu's men are also unbeaten this season, coming through the Champions League's third round of qualifying and play-off stage with two victories and two draws to progress past Fenerbahce and Rapid Wien.
Inevitably, many will point out that Shakhtar's opponents to date are hardly of the standard of Real Madrid, but the club has pedigree in Europe, having won the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) in 2009, reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2010-11, pipped Chelsea for qualification from Group E in 2012-13 and progressed to last season's knockout rounds.
They also have a 25-year-old Brazilian named Alex Teixeira who's scored nine times in seven league games this season.
Match Details
Date: Tuesday, September 15
Time: 7:45 p.m. BST / 2:45 p.m. EDT / 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
TV Info: BT Sport (UK), Fox Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: BT Sport Online Player (UK), Fox Sports Go (U.S.)
Form Lines
Team News
After being withdrawn midway through the second half against Espanyol on Saturday, Sergio Ramos trained away from Real Madrid's main group on Sunday. He is expected to be fit for Tuesday's Champions League opener after joining the rest of the squad in training on Monday, per the club's official website.
Toni Kroos and Raphael Varane are also expected to return to the starting lineup after being rested against Espanyol, but James Rodriguez and Danilo remain sidelined for the meeting with Shakhtar due to injury. Consequently, Daniel Carvajal and Isco will likely keep their places in Benitez's XI.
For Shakhtar, Lucescu has a full squad to choose from, the Ukrainians being without any injury concerns at this early stage of the season.
Real Madrid Squad (per club website): Keylor Navas, Kiko Casilla, Ruben Yanez, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Raphael Varane, Daniel Carvajal, Marcelo, Nacho, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Isco, Gareth Bale, Mateo Kovacic, Denis Cheryshev, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Jese
Shakhtar Donetsk Squad (per club website): Andriy Pyatov, Anton Kanibolotskiy, Oleksandr Kucher, Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Ivan Ordets, Darijo Srna, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Yaroslav Rakytskiy, Marcio Azevedo, Taras Stepanenko, Fred, Dentinho, Bernard, Marlos, Maksym Malyshev, Taison, Alex Teixeira, Victor Kovalenko, Oleksandr Gladkyy, Eduardo
Predicted Lineups
In the Spotlight
If, in a quiet moment, you were to ask Keylor Navas what he's made of his time at Real Madrid to date, he might look at you, his face blank, and simply shrug his shoulders. The possible message: "It's just how football is."
Like any footballer, he's simply come to Madrid to play; instead, he's done little more than find himself caught in the middle of political storms and power struggles, Real first thrusting him into the Iker Casillas affair, before leaving him in limbo all summer while David De Gea's arrival was anticipated.
Just imagine, then, how Navas felt on the final day of the recent transfer window, as Madrid and Manchester United drew out the De Gea saga as long as possible, Real essentially telling a player who'd never been given a chance that he was the expendable piece, the acceptable casualty of the war.
Now imagine the mess of emotions he currently feels, given that he's still there but knows absolutely that he's not the man his club wants. He's currently playing, yes, but for how long? A single season?
Certainly, three consecutive clean sheets have represented a positive start to the campaign for the Costa Rican, seeing AS, in what felt like an act of encouragement, describe him as a "wall." Now, though, Navas has a chance to showcase his talent on a bigger stage again—a chance to force his club to ask: "David who?"
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Real Madrid: 1-5
Draw: 5-1
Shakhtar Donetsk: 11-1
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566399-real-madrid-vs-shakhtar-team-news-predicted-lineups-live-stream-tv-info
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