Déjà vu approached the viewer of CSKA Moscow vs. Real Madrid on Tuesday and punched him or her in the teeth. Whether it was the sight of Russian internationals Igor Akinfeev and Mario Fernandes doing brave defending, Marco Asensio never making the right decision in the final third or Toni Kroos not enjoying himself on Russian soil, Tuesday showed that Julen Lopetegui could only run from the demons he’d managed to avoid by getting sacked before the World Cup for so long.
Without Isco, Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, CSKA registered a shock 1-0 victory over Real at the Luzhniki Stadium thanks to an early goal from Nikola Vlasic.
In the second minute of proceedings, Kroos smashed a half-volleyed back pass straight into the ground and into the path of Vlasic. It really was as dumb as it sounds.
.@PFCCSKA_en gets the shock lead over @realmadriden
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) October 2, 2018
From there, Real controlled 72.3 percent of possession while out-passing CSKA 776-302 (ring any bells?), but it could not find the equalizer despite hitting the woodwork thrice (Casemiro, Benzema and Mariano).
Luka Modric entered the fray in the 58th minute and was roundly jeered by Muscovites for what he did to them in the World Cup quarterfinals, but the Croatian couldn’t turn the tide.
The result sees Moscow climb to the top of Group G with four points from two matches. Real Madrid sits second, but Roma’s 5-0 decimation of Plzen has thrown everything into disarray.
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