It was a historic moment for the Moldovan clubside, FC Sheriff Tiraspol...and no one saw it coming. Predicted as the Group D underdogs or weeping boys at this season's UEFA Champions League, but has gone ahead to establish themselves on top of the 'High table' after two games and two wins.
UEFA Champions League more often than not, are of the blue bloods of European football. But sometimes, an upset like this makes some media hypes. That’s what Sheriff Tiraspol did on Tuesday with a stunning 2-1 upset of Real Madrid.
Jasrubek Yakhshiboev netted a header for Sheriff in the 25th minute and then the team withstood a rush from Real Madrid much of the rest of the game. The heavy favorites equalized in the 65th minute on a Karim Benzema penalty kick, but the underdogs netted the game-winner in the 89th minute when Sébastien Thill nailed a shot from outside the box to the top left corner.
Sheriff came into this match with +1700 odds to win at DraftKings Sportsbook while Real Madrid was -750. 74% of handle and 85% of bets were on the favorite to roll to victory.
With the win, Sheriff improves to 2-0-0 in Group D. Real Madrid drops to second place with a 1-0-1 record while Inter and Shakhtar Donetsk are tied for third at 0-1-1. Sheriff’s next match is on October 19th in Milan against Inter. Real Madrid will host Shakhtar Donetsk the same day.
Not many may know about FC Sheriff Tiraspol, but the club had signed several Nigerian professionals in the past. Players like Isaac Okoronkwo, Chidi Odiah, Faith Obilor, Chiedo Chukwueke, Edward Anyamekgh, Kennedy Chinwo, Christian Jacob, Razak Omotoyssi (Benin Republic)
#FCSheriffUCL
This Hashtag thread offers tremendous context for Sheriff Tiraspol, which is the first Moldovan team to even earn a berth in the Champions League.
