Real Madrid 4-0 Shakhtar: Cristiano Ronaldo scores a hat-trick... but Gareth Bale is forced off through injury in comprehensive win
- French international Karim Benzema opened the scoring for Real Madrid with just over half an hour played
- Midfielder Taras Stepanenko was then given his marching orders by the referee after receiving two yellow cards
- Cristiano Ronaldo scored three times in second half - two from the spot as the Spanish giants turned on the style
- But Gareth Bale was replaced in the first 45 minutes after suffering injury and will be a doubt for their next game
Cristiano
Ronaldo made it eight goals in four days as Real Madrid won their
opening Champions League game 4-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk, but lost
Gareth Bale in the process.
The
Welshman pulled up with a calf strain on 29 minutes, just as Real took
the lead following a gaffe from keeper Andriy Pyatov, gratefully
accepted by Karim Benzema.
After
the Frenchman's opener Ronaldo took over, scoring two penalties and
heading in a rebound to make it 78 Champions League goals and 321 in
total, leaving him just two from breaking Real Madrid' all-time scoring
record in all competitions held by Raul.
Attacker Cristiano Ronaldo bags a penalty as Real Madrid cruise to victory in Spain on Tuesday night against 10-man Shakhtar
Real Madrid attacker Ronaldo celebrates his goal as his fellow Madrid team-mates make their way over to join him in celebration
Ronaldo takes flight in celebration as he nets against the Ukrainian side in Madrid on Tuesday night in the Champions League
Bale
will have tests on his calf on Wednesday and Madrid also had to take
off Raphael Varane at half time with a knock on the ankle and Sergio
Ramos in the second half with a shoulder problem. They join full-back
Danilo and James Rodriguez on a lengthening injury list.
But injuries aside it was satisfying night for Rafa Benitez on his Champions League debut as Real Madrid coach.
His
team had to scrap for first-half supremacy against the impressive
Ukrainian champions but things were made easier for them in the second
half when midfielder Taras Stepanenko was sent off for a second yellow
card and when Real Madrid were gifted a scandalous penalty after Darijo
Srna had blocked Ronaldo's shot with his back but was adjudged to have
handled.
Ronaldo's powerful late header earns him his third goal of the game as Real Madrid smash four past their opposition in Madrid
Portugal international Ronaldo celebrates after continuing his insanely impressive goalscoring run in the Champions League clash
Attacking duo Ronaldo and Karim Benzema celebrate following the Frenchman's opener in Madrid against the Ukrainian outfit
Frenchman Benzema wheels away in celebration after opening the scoring for Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium in front of the crowds
Benzema's effort ripples the net as the French striker opens the scoring for Spanish giants Real Madrid in the 4-0 victory
French international Benzema punches the air after opening the scoring for Real Madrid against Shakhtar at the Bernabeu
Tuesday night's Match Zone shows how many passes Real Madrid strung together as Benzema gave them the lead in Madrid
Real Madrid star Gareth Bale was
forced off with a suspected calf injury in the first half of their
Champions League match with Shakhtar
Ronaldo scored the spot kick and thundered home another penalty shortly afterwards before nodding in a saved Marcelo shot.
The
margin flattered them but they deserved their win having started
strongly with Modric feeding Ronaldo who turned cleverly inside the area
before threading a pass through for Benzema. Some how, having rounded
the keeper and with the goal gaping, he blazed over.
Ronaldo
then shot just wide after bringing down Marcelo's deep cross and Bale
also missed from the edge of the six-yard box. All of the home side's
front three had missed opportunities and Madrid were attacking with
fluidity and imagination and it looked only a matter of time before they
took the lead.
Bale heads straight down the tunnel after picking up an injury in Real Madrid's victory on Tuesday night in the Champions League
When
they did Bale had already hobbled off clutching his right calf. He was
having ice-treatment on the sidelines as Isco hung a cross into the area
on the half hour and the advancing Shakhtar Donetsk keeper Pyatov made a
mess of it.
Possibly
put off by his own back-pedaling defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy, he
spilled the ball at the feet of Benzema who this time really couldn't
miss and rolled it into an empty net.
Shakhtar
were giving as good as they were getting with fast breaks down the left
where full-back Márcio Azevedo was over-lapping with menace.
They
looked like a team already well into their season with the impressive
Stepanenko snapping into tackles in midfield. He snapped into one too
many and picked up his first booking.
It
was a measure of how well they were playing that a concerned Rafa
Benetiz switched to 4-4-2 after Bale's injury replacing him with central
midfielder Mateo Kovačić.
He
had to make another change at half time when Varane failed to reappear.
Madrid sailed through the second period however helped by a second
yellow for Stepanenko and the penalty wrongly given against Srna who was
booked for protesting.
The referee had at first waved away Madrid appeals but had his mind changed by the extra official on the goal line.
Rafa Benitez gets vocal as he watches
his Real Madrid side ease to a Champions League victory on Tuesday with a
4-0 win on the night
Madrid
scored a third on 63 minutes when Azevedo handled in the area. This
time the match officials got their decision right and Ronaldo dispatched
into the same corner for goal number 77 in this competition. Goal 78
followed soon afterwards with Ronaldo's header beating Pyatov after he
had saved Marcelo's shot.
The
third and fourth goals were harsh on the away side who had been undone
by goalkeeping howler and a referee's mistake early on. They might have
grabbed a late consolation but Keylor Navas saved brilliantly tipping a
deflected shot over the bar.
This
group will still be tough for Real Madrid and Benitez will not want any
more injuries but this was a fine start and Ronaldo, who moved three
clear of Leo Messi as the competition's top scorer, is now just a brace
from becoming Real Madrid's greatest ever striker.
Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos also sustained injury during the win and like Bale was replaced by manager Benitez
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