Real Madrid easily dispatched an overmatched FC Copenhagen 4-0 here Wednesday in the second round of Champions League group play
Real Madrid easily dispatched an overmatched FC Copenhagen 4-0 here Wednesday in the second round of Champions League group play. The 80,000 fans who packed into Sebastian Bernabeu stadium for the European fixture were still smarting from the Blancos’ loss last weekend to crosstown rival Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti shuffled his lineup to make room for midfielder Luka Modric, left out of the starting 11 for the clash with Atletico. The change paid dividends at both ends of the field. After contributing to Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal in the 20th minute, the Croatian make a superb defensive play to prevent the visitors from scoring on a corner.
Modric got an enthusiastic round of applause from the Real Madrid faithful when he came off for Isco in the 65th minute, just 60 seconds after Ronaldo scored his second goal of the contest. Angel di Maria made it 3-0 for the Blancos in the 71st minute with a blast from outside the area, going on to collect his second goal of the night with a minute left in regulation.
Perfect so far in Champions League play, Real Madrid leads Group B with six points, four ahead of Juventus, which battled to 2-2 tie with Galatasaray on Wednesday. Paris Saint-Germain and defending champion Bayern Munich are also 2-0 after their respective victories Wednesday over Benfica, 3-0; and Manchester City, 3-1.
Manchester United, meanwhile, played to a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk, a result that left the two teams tied for first place in Group A with four points each. Bayer Leverkusen edged Real Sociedad 2-1 in Wednesday’s other Group A contest. In Group C, Olympiacos blanked Anderlecht 3-0, while CSKA Moskva topped Viktoria Plzen 3-2 in Group D.
-IANS
