Irresistible Cristiano Ronaldo takes Real Madird to top of Group G
Real Madrid put their one foot into the knock-out phase of the competition by comprehensively overcoming the seven times European champions, AC Milan.
Cristiano Ronaldo was at the heart of the onslaught and was a constant thorn in the defence of AC Milan. He made it 1-0 when his fiercely struck a free kick on the 13th minute mark, somehow managing to squeeze between the soft Milan wall.
60 seconds later, Ronaldo again carved his way through two Milan defenders, before setting up Mesut Ozil, whose shot was deflected into the net to the dismay of debutant goal keeper, Marco Amelia.
The score line could easily have been worse for Milan, had Real Madrid been more clinical in front of goal. Chances were wasted by both Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria as Madrid cruised home.
Real Madrid now sit pretty at the top of Group G, 5 points clear of both Ajax and AC Milan. A victory at San Siro in two weeks time would guarantee the top spot for Jose Mourinho’s men.
"It was a fantastic performance and I can only say congratulations to my players and hope the Real fans are happy with what they saw," said a jubilant Mourinho.
"We have nine points but of course we want to be first in the group and to achieve that we have to continue winning matches."
The match was by far the clash of the night as the two heavyweights of Europe, who share 16 European championships between them, squared up against each other at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Milan’s ageing stars had little fight in them as the rampaging Madrid were all over them throughout the ninety minutes. Madrid endured a slow start to the season with 6 goals from their first 5 La Liga matches. However, they looked disciplined in all departments as they ran ragged the Milan players.
After an early miss from Angel Di Maria, Pato conceded a needless penalty at the edge of the box. Ronaldo stepped up to fire it through the Milans wall, where bizarrely both Seedorf and Pirlo seemed to jump out of the way, to make it 1-0 for the home side.
A minute later, the lead was doubled as Ronaldo ran at Gianlugi Zambrotta and bursted into the box to set up Ozil. His weak volley into the ground bounced off on to the shoulder of helpless Bonero, before looping into the net.
Milan did show some class of their own when Andre Pirlo forced Iker Casilas to make a finger tip save from a free kick of his own. Then Ronaldinho, who was generally wasteful for most part of the night, set up Seedorf, who failed to direct his shot on goal.
That was literally it from the away team as Real Madrid continued to dominate proceedings with Ronaldo causing mayhem throughout the match. However, he too was guilty of missing a sitter by his standards when Marcelo had squared a ball inside the box for him. Higuain was clearly lacking the spark of Ronaldo as he headed once over the bar and then into the hands of Amelia.
Ronaldinho was replaced by a former Madrid man, Robinho, on the 70th minute mark, who received mixed reception from the fans. Apart from a well struck shot that brought a save out of Casillas, the Brazilian failed to inspire an unlikely comeback.
AC Milan's coach, Massimiliano Allegri admitted that his team failed to stamp their authority. He added, "We had goal scoring chances but you have to do more than we did to hurt Real Madrid. The first quarter of an hour was crucial. They scored two goals and we didn't know what to do."
Real Madrid are now in pole position to go on and win the group, while Milan have got their work cut out.
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