Spanish papers react with bemusement after an ‘overconfident’ Real Madrid are beaten at home by Moldovan minnows Tiraspol

Spanish papers have reacted with shock and humour after Real Madrid’s humbling home defeat to Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League on Tuesday night. 

Luxembourg midfielder Sebastien Thrill netted a stunning late winner to seal the most famous win in the Moldovans history, on an embarrassing evening for Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti. 

And the papers did not miss out on using some obvious puns as headlines directed at the 13-time European champions, with Mundo Deportivo running with: ‘Detained by the Sheriff!’

The front cover added that the ‘modest Moldovan side beat a Madrid team who could only score a penalty against the group leaders.’

Madrid stalwart Karim Benzema had equalised from the spot in the 65th minute, following Jasurbek Yakhshiboev’s first-half opener in the Bernabeu. 

Meanwhile, AS similarly headlined: ‘The sheriff imposes his law’, also describing Ancelotti’s side as ‘overconfident.’ 

It also notes that the hosts dominated the match, with 31 shots on goal in total, but required a penalty to break down their Champions League minnows. 

Marca described the contest as ‘incredible’, whilst also focusing on Atletico’s late comeback at AC Milan in which Diego Simeone’s fought back to win 2-1 in the dying stages, via goals from Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez.

The loss to Sheriff is a setback for Madrid, who are now three points behind the Champions League debutants in Group D. 

‘I’m a little sad as I think we deserved to win,’ said Real coach Carlo Ancelotti.

‘You could say we had bad luck, we lost the game on the small details, they scored their goals on the counter-attack and from a throw-in. We had a lot of shots at goal but sometimes luck deserts you in games. ‘Everything went well for them, everything went wrong for us.’