Goals: Real Madrid—Suchy 14’ (own-goal), Bale 30’, Ronaldo 31’, Rodriguez 36’, Benzema 79’; FC Basel—Gonzalez 38’
Recap: Complete and utter domination saw Real Madrid capture a 5-1 victory over FC Basel on Tuesday.
A comical own-goal from Marek Suchy opened the affair for the reigning European champions in the first half. An onslaught of goals from Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez would follow. It took all of six minutes for Los Galacticos to capture a 4-0 lead. Clever build-up from Ronaldo allowed Karim Benzema to seal the 5-1 victory.
Key Moment: It’s difficult to identify a key moment in a 5-1 undressing, but Real Madrid’s second goal proved to be the classiest. Impeccable service from Luka Modric allowed Bale to take-on the keeper. The Welshman left zero doubts with his finish.
Man of the Match: Bale finished the match with a goal, an assist and two take-ons.
Lesson Learned: Don’t let league form fool you: Real Madrid are still Champions League favorites. Despite dropping their last two league matches, Los Blancos looked every bit the European juggernaut they’re believed to be on Tuesday. The daily grind of league competition hasn’t been solved by manager Carlo Ancelotti, but Real Madrid are different side on European nights at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Up Next: Real Madrid visits Deportivo de la Coruna on Saturday, while FC Basel meets with Winterthur on Sunday.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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