Sheriff Tiraspol said they had not been overawed on their first trip to the mighty Real Madrid — and proved it by winning 2-1 late on in one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history.

With all the talk of a European Super League for the elite, the minnows from the Moldovan league gave a timely reminder of the appeal of open competition.

“We came here to win,” said Frank Castaneda, the Sheriff captain. “We didn’t just come here to sit around. We know how good our players are and luckily for us Madrid weren’t able to take their chances — and we took ours.”

For Sheriff this was only a second match in the Champions League group stage and the estimated value of their entire squad is 12 million euros, about the same as the annual salary of Madrid defender David Alaba.  

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

 

 

 

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