Real Madrid earned their first-ever win over Liverpool with a wondrous Cristiano Ronaldo goal spearheading a 3-0 Champions League victory at Anfield yesterday which appeared as classy as it was dominant.

Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after his goal against Liverpool.Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after his goal against Liverpool.

The roar of one of Europe’s most vociferous crowds was muted when Ronaldo, combining with James Rodriguez, scored the most brilliant of openers in the 23rd minute, his 70th Champions League goal moving him within one of Raul’s all-time record.

Poor Liverpool defending then contributed to Karim Benzema striking twice more for the champions before half-time and left the hosts to try to overturn a three-goal deficit in the Champions League for the first time since the 2005 final.

Carlo Ancelotti, who was in charge of the Milan side which threw away that lead in Istanbul, was not about to let history repeat itself in this Group B encounter as his men consolidated to win their third consecutive Champions League game and emphatically put an end to Liverpool’s three-game, 100 per cent winning record over them.

An unstoppable last-gasp, long-range shot from defender Yordan Minev gave Ludogorets a 1-0 victory over 10-man Basel in the other Group B match last night.

It was an historic moment for Ludogorets, who became the first Bulgarian team to win points in the group stage.

The result left the chase for second place finely balanced, with Ludogorets, Basel and Liverpool all on three points after three matches, six adrift of runaway leaders Real Madrid.

Koke scored one goal and had a hand in three more as Atletico Madrid handed Swedish side Malmo a 5-0 drubbing in Group A.

Last season’s beaten finalists struggled to convert overwhelming dominance into goals in the first period before Koke ran on to Arda Turan’s clever dinked pass and fired into the corner three minutes after the break.

Mandzukic made it 2-0 and Antoine Griezmann added a third two minutes later when he picked up a Koke pass and unleashed a powerful shot that looped up off the keeper and into the net.

Diego Godin headed Koke’s outswinging corner powerfully into the net three minutes from time and substitute Alessio Cerci completed a comfortable win for the La Liga champions when he lashed a shot into the corner in the third minute of added time.

Atletico were far too strong for Malmo and the victory over the Swedish champs gives them a share of first place in the group, level on six points with Olympiakos.

Pajtim Kasami, of Olympiakos, held back by Juve’s Claudio Marchisio, yesterday.Pajtim Kasami, of Olympiakos, held back by Juve’s Claudio Marchisio, yesterday.
 

The Greek side claimed another impressive scalp on home soil after Pajtim Kasami’s clinical strike gave them a 1-0 win over Juventus.

Kasami’s first-half finish set the Greek champions on their way but it was the performance of their goalkeeper Roberto that proved the difference, as he pulled off a string of fine second-half saves to hold off Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve.

Paul Pogba, Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata were all denied by the former Benfica keeper.

Arsenal struck twice in the last two minutes for a smash and grab 2-1 victory away to Anderlecht in Group D to earn three vital points.

The Londoners produced a lethargic display and were trailing to Andy Najar’s 71st-minute header before Kieran Gibbs equalised after 89 minutes and then Lukas Podolski smashed in a close-range winner.

It was tough luck on Anderlecht who had seemed on course for a first victory in the competition in 11 attempts.

Arsenal remain in second place with six points behind Borussia Dortmund for whom Emerick Aubameyang scored twice in the first 18 minutes as they trounced Galatasaray 4-0.

The Gabonese striker tapped in his first after six minutes, off a perfect pass from Marco Reus, and made it 2-0 from close range in the 18th when Lukasz Piszczek crossed from the right and found him unmarked.

Reus made it 3-0 just before the break with a brilliant long-range lob past keeper Fernando Muslera.

Adrian Ramos completed the rout with ease in the 83rd, only seconds after he had come on.

Dortmund lead the group with nine points to Arsenal’s six.

Summaries

Atl. Madrid 5
Koke 48; Mandzukic 61; Griezmann 63; Godin 87; Cerci 90;
Malmo 0

Olympiakos 1
Kasami 36;
Juventus 0

Ludogorets 1
Minev 90;
Basel 0

Red card: Die (B) 18.

Liverpool 0
Real Madrid 3
Ronaldo 23; Benzema 30, 41;

B. L’erkusen 2
Donati 58; Papadopoulos 63;
Zenit SP 0

Red card: Wendell (BL) 79.

Monaco 0
Benfica 0

Red card: Lopez (B) 76.

Anderlecht 1
Najar 71;
Arsenal 2
Gibbs 89; Podolski 90;

Galatasaray 0
B. Dortmund 4
Aubameyang 6; Aubameyang 18; Reus 41; Ramos 83;

Group A

  P W D L F A Pts
Atl. Madrid 3 2 0 1 8 3 6
Olympiakos 3 2 0 1 4 4 6
Juventus 3 1 0 2 2 2 3
Malmo 3 1 0 2 2 7 3

Olympiakos vs A. Madrid - 3-2
Juventus vs Malmo - 2-0
Malmo vs Olympiakos - 2-0
Atl. Madrid vs Juventus - 1-0
Atl. Madrid vs Malmo - 5-0
Olympiakos vs Juventus - 1-0
04/11/14: Malmo vs A. Madrid
04/11/14: Juventus vs Olympiakos
26/11/14: A. Madrid vs Olympiakos
26/11/14: Malmo vs Juventus
09/12/14: Olympiakos vs Malmo
09/12/14: Juventus vs A. Madrid

Group B

  P W D L F A Pts
R. Madrid 3 3 0 0 10 2 9
Ludogorets 3 1 0 2 3 4 3
Liverpool 3 1 0 2 2 5 3
Basel 3 1 0 2 2 6 3

Liverpool vs Ludogorets - 2-1
R. Madrid vs Basel - 5-1
Basel vs Liverpool - 1-0
Ludogorets vs Real Madrid - 1-2
Ludogorets vs Basel - 1-0
Liverpool vs Real Madrid - 0-3
04/11/14: Basel vs Ludogorets
04/11/14: R. Madrid vs Liverpool
26/11/14: Ludogorets vs Liverpool
26/11/14: Basel vs Real Madrid
09/12/14: Liverpool vs Basel
09/12/14: R. Madrid vs Ludogorets

Group C

  P W D L F A Pts
B. Leverkusen 3 2 0 1 5 2 6
Monaco 3 1 2 0 1 0 5
Zenit SP 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Benfica 3 0 1 2 1 5 1

Monaco vs Bayer Leverkusen - 1-0
Benfica vs Zenit SP - 0-2
Zenit SP vs Monaco - 0-0
B. Leverkusen vs Benfica - 3-1
B. Leverkusen vs Zenit SP - 2-0
Monaco vs Benfica - 0-0
04/11/14: Zenit SP vs B. Leverkusen
04/11/14: Benfica vs Monaco
26/11/14: Zenit SP vs Benfica
26/11/14: B. Leverkusen vs Monaco
09/12/14: Monaco vs Zenit SP
09/12/14: Benfica vs B. Leverkusen

Group D

  P W D L F A Pts
B. Dortmund 3 3 0 0 9 0 9
Arsenal 3 2 0 1 6 4 6
Anderlecht 3 0 1 2 2 6 1
Galatasaray 3 0 1 2 2 9 1

Galatasaray vs Anderlecht - 1-1
B. Dortmund vs Arsenal - 2-0
Arsenal vs Galatasaray - 4-1
Anderlecht vs B. Dortmund - 0-3
Anderlecht vs Arsenal - 1-2
Galatasaray vs B. Dortmund - 0-4
04/11/14: Arsenal vs Anderlecht
04/11/14: B. Dortmund vs Galatasaray
26/11/14: Anderlecht vs Galatasaray
26/11/14: Arsenal vs B. Dortmund
09/12/14: Galatasaray vs Arsenal
09/12/14: B. Dortmund vs Anderlecht

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.