A football stadium packed with neutrals — people not especially invested in which team wins — usually makes for a quiet night.
It was the exact opposite at Warsaw in Poland on Tuesday. A rare set of circumstances led to an emotional evening where the crowd moved its support in a matter of minutes.
Locals began cheering on the stars of Real Madrid slowly started to get behind Shakhtar Donetsk, the underdogs from Ukraine’s war-torn east who are playing in Poland while their own country is fighting against Russia’s invasion.
On Monday, missiles struck civilian targets in Kyiv as well as other Ukrainian cities. This was the most serious escalation of violence since the war began. Ten out of the 11 players in Shakhtar’s starting line-up against Madrid were Ukrainian.
The fourth game is still in Champions LeagueShakhtar took the lead in Group F through Oleksandr Zubkov just after the half-time break. It held that position until the fifth minute of stoppage, when Madrid equalized with an Antonio Rudiger header.
The group remains in balance with Shakhtar just one point behind RB LeipzigIn second place.
“We are sad because we lost two points, this is a normal emotion, but we must be proud of the team because we showed the Ukrainian people we were fighting from the first second,” said head coach Igor Jovicevic.
“I want to thank all the people in the stadium because this evening was amazing.
