The Moldovan minnow, solely based in 1997 and made up of an eclectic group of gamers, clinched a well-known 2-1 win on the Bernabéu due to Sebastien Thill’s last-minute stunner.
Uzbek midfielder Jasurbek Yakhshiboev opened the scoring within the first half together with his first Champions League aim, earlier than Karim Benzema drew Actual stage from the penalty spot simply after the hour mark.
Sheriff’s Greek goalkeeper Giorgos Athanasiadis produced the sport of his life, developing with a minimum of 10 saves as Actual Madrid again and again didn’t get the higher of him from open play.
With the clock ticking down and the match heading for a draw — which in itself would have been a historic consequence — Thill produced a shocking half-volley from exterior of the realm to ship shockwaves round Europe.
In accordance with metadata firm Gracenote, Sheriff had only a 1.4% probability of victory earlier than kick off, making the consequence the most important shock since its Euro Membership Index was launched in 2010.
Gracenote’s ECI ranks each prime tier workforce round Europe, with Actual Madrid at the moment third — behind solely Bayern Munich and Manchester Metropolis — and Sheriff ranked one hundred and seventy fifth.
“Arrested by the Sheriff,” learn the entrance web page of Wednesday’s version of Spanish sports activities newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
“That is so emotional,” Sheriff supervisor Yuriy Vernydub advised reporters after the match. “I am very appreciative of my boys for this nice job. We’re an actual workforce.
“Some massive gamers stated earlier than there is no place within the Champions League for groups like Sheriff, but it surely’s our place and we proved it.
“We now have created a miracle and in the long run now we have gained. I’m very completely happy and really proud for FC Sheriff, however I’m extra pleased with my boys.”
Actual Madrid supervisor Carlo Ancelotti stated after the match that it was “troublesome to clarify” how his workforce misplaced the sport.
“The whole lot went nicely for them whereas every little thing we did turned out badly,” he stated. “Greater than apprehensive, we’re unhappy. We performed with depth and dedication, however misplaced because of the most interesting particulars.
“The workforce performed nicely, we might have been sharper within the space, but it surely’s troublesome to clarify what occurred.
“The small particulars price us the sport and we should always be taught from that sooner or later, however this was a defeat we didn’t deserve.”
Sheriff now remarkably sits prime of Group D on six factors after its upset win towards Shakhtar Donetsk in its opening recreation.
