22.10.2014 » Liverpool 0-3 Real Madrid. Ronaldo delivers a business card in Anfield
For the first time in the club's history, Real Madrid came out victorious of Anfield Road, after beating the Reds by an expressive scoreline of 0-3. The home fans were delighted to see their team hosting the new European champions, but soon realized that they didn't have the weapons they needed to stop the Merengues' thirst for goals. Cristiano Ronaldo silenced the crowd with his first goal ever in Anfield around the 22nd minute of the first half and then Karim Benzema made sure he would put the game to sleep still before half-time, as he managed to score two more goals that now allow him to become the club's top scorer in the UEFA Champions League this season. All eyes and attention will now turn to Spain though, with a Real Madrid vs Barcelona duel set to take place in the Santiago Bernabéu this Saturday afternoon.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Liverpool 0-3 Real Madrid - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Liverpool:
With Gareth Bale injured for the upcoming two weeks and therefore unavailable to star in tonight's game against Liverpool, Carlo Ancelotti was forced to do a few retouches to his side.
Just like we had seen happening in last weekend's league fixture against Levante, the Italian coach played with a 4-4-2 formation, lining up Iker Casillas in goal, Arbeloa, Pepe, Varane and Marcelo in the back, and a strong midfiled formed by Toni Kroos, Modric, James Rodríguez and Isco. In the last third of the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema teamed up with only one mission on their minds: setting Liverpool's defense on fire.
The Merengues found themselves one goal up around the 22nd minute of the first half, when a splendid attacking play ended up leading to James Rodríguez assisting Cristiano Ronaldo for one of his best goals this season. The Portuguese forward made a quick run into the back of Liverpool's back line and once he saw James popping him the ball, his killer instinct basically came to the surface. With a brilliant first touch, Ronaldo sent the ball past Mignolet to score his 3rd goal in the competition this season and placing himself just 1 goal behind Raúl's all-time record of 71 goals. At this stage, no one certainly doubts that it's only a matter of time until either Ronaldo (70) or Lionel Messi (69) catch him...
Barça and Real Madrid will clash in a few days time and with that in mind, Ancelotti had all the motives in the world to want for last night's game to be settled in the shortest period of time possible. That's precisely what happened in those first 45 minutes in Anfield, in great part after Karim Benzema decided to join the show and also add his name to the scoresheet. With 30 minutes on the clock, Toni Kroos found the Frenchman free at the far post with a perfectly curled cross and the 26-year old forward proved to be in great form too, heading the ball over Mignolet to make it 0-2 to Real Madrid.
The third and final blow was struck still before the half-time break and it was once again followed by a Toni Kroos cross into the far post. The German's corner-kick found Pepe free from marking, but as the Portuguese defender struggled to control the ball inside Liverpool's box, the best he could do was to assist Benzema in the middle for an easy tap-in from the French. That was Benzema's 4th goal in the Champions League this season and his 7th in all competitions.
With the game virtually decided at the half-time, Ancelotti was keen to start sparing some of his players from unnecessary efforts and by doing that, also making sure his side will be as fresh as possible for the Real Madrid v Barça match-up on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo left the pitch for Sami Khedira around the 75th minute, while Kroos followed his footsteps 6 minutes later and Marcelo shortly after as well. With this Wednesday night victory, Real Madrid continue leading their the UEFA Champions League Group B, with a perfect record of 3 wins in 3 games.
Real Madrid line-up vs Liverpool:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Pepe, Varane, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Toni Kroos, Modric, James Rodríguez, Isco
Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
|---|---|---|
Liverpool
|
vs
|
Real Madrid
|
0 |
Goals |
3 |
12 |
Shots |
14 |
2 |
Shots on goal |
7 |
9 |
Corner kicks |
5 |
6 |
Fouls commited |
4 |
0 |
Yellow cards |
1 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
46% |
Ball possession |
54% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid is a league Clasico against Barcelona, on October 25 (Saturday). You can watch Juventus live stream, Real Madrid vs Barça, Sevilla vs Villarreal, Manchester United vs Chelsea, Tottenham vs Asteras Tripolis, and Krasnodar vs Wolfsburg, all matches provided from our live soccer streaming section.
Real Madrid next game:
Real Madrid vs Barcelona kick-off time (25-10-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 23:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+2: 18:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+1: 17:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-3: 13:00
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 12:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7 09:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 00:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / uefa.com / realmadrid.com / espnfc.com
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