Chris Maduewesi
Member
At Anfield, Real Madrid justified why they are the defending champions of the UEFA Champions League after beating Liverpool 3-0.
It was a masterclass performance from Carlo Ancelotti's team, dominating their hosts in a game they clearly had the upper hand.
Madrid had their noses in front after Cristiano Ronaldo clipped in a chipped pass from James Rodriguez, opening the scores for his team.
It was Ronaldo's first goal at Anfield, having failed to score on his previous visits there during his time at Manchester United.
But remarkably, the goal took his tally to 70, just one short of equalling Raul's all-time record of 71 goals in the Champions League.
And from then it was Real Madrid all the way, two more goals from Karim Benzema ensured that Liverpool went into the break three goals down.
The second goal was the killer punch for Brendan Rodgers' team, Benzema guided in a looping header to beat Simon Mignolet.
And at the other end of pitch, Mario Balotelli another game to forget, having a nightmarish performance which was no surprise when he was substituted after the first half.
Madrid saw out the game and were even unlucky not to have added to their tally in the game.
A second half effort from Ronaldo was saved by Mignolet to prevent them from making it 4-0.
And with the El Classico coming up this weekend,Madrid got the perfect tonic they needed to play Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Arsenal survived a scare in their game against Belgian side, Anderlecht, coming from a goal down to win 2-1.
On a day that Arsene Wenger was marking his 65th birthday, Arsenal had to leave it late, scoring two late goals in stoppage time to secure the win.
In fact, Arsenal's first shot on target came in the 49th minute, as they struggled to beat the Belgians.
Andy Najar gave the Belgian side the lead in the 71st minute, scoring with a firm header to open the scores.
However, Arsenal had to remedy the situation through Kieran Gibbs who guided in a volley at the far post before Lukas Podolski rifled in from close range to secure the win.
Results:
Atletico Madrid 5 -0 Malmö FF
Olympiakos 1 -0 Juventus
Liverpool 0 -3 Real Madrid
Ludogorets 1 -0 FC Basel
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Zenit St Petersburg
Monaco 0 -0 Benfica
Galatasaray 0 -4 Borussia Dortmund
Anderlecht 1 -2 Arsenal
It was a masterclass performance from Carlo Ancelotti's team, dominating their hosts in a game they clearly had the upper hand.
Madrid had their noses in front after Cristiano Ronaldo clipped in a chipped pass from James Rodriguez, opening the scores for his team.
It was Ronaldo's first goal at Anfield, having failed to score on his previous visits there during his time at Manchester United.
But remarkably, the goal took his tally to 70, just one short of equalling Raul's all-time record of 71 goals in the Champions League.
And from then it was Real Madrid all the way, two more goals from Karim Benzema ensured that Liverpool went into the break three goals down.
The second goal was the killer punch for Brendan Rodgers' team, Benzema guided in a looping header to beat Simon Mignolet.
And at the other end of pitch, Mario Balotelli another game to forget, having a nightmarish performance which was no surprise when he was substituted after the first half.
Madrid saw out the game and were even unlucky not to have added to their tally in the game.
A second half effort from Ronaldo was saved by Mignolet to prevent them from making it 4-0.
And with the El Classico coming up this weekend,Madrid got the perfect tonic they needed to play Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Arsenal survived a scare in their game against Belgian side, Anderlecht, coming from a goal down to win 2-1.
On a day that Arsene Wenger was marking his 65th birthday, Arsenal had to leave it late, scoring two late goals in stoppage time to secure the win.
In fact, Arsenal's first shot on target came in the 49th minute, as they struggled to beat the Belgians.
Andy Najar gave the Belgian side the lead in the 71st minute, scoring with a firm header to open the scores.
However, Arsenal had to remedy the situation through Kieran Gibbs who guided in a volley at the far post before Lukas Podolski rifled in from close range to secure the win.
Results:
Atletico Madrid 5 -0 Malmö FF
Olympiakos 1 -0 Juventus
Liverpool 0 -3 Real Madrid
Ludogorets 1 -0 FC Basel
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Zenit St Petersburg
Monaco 0 -0 Benfica
Galatasaray 0 -4 Borussia Dortmund
Anderlecht 1 -2 Arsenal