10.12.2013 » Copenhagen 0-2 Real Madrid. Ronaldo returns to break UCL record
Real Madrid came out of Denmark with the 3 points in the bag, after beating Copenhagen by 0-2 at the "Parken Stadion". This has been the Merengues last UEFA Champions League group stage game and even though the visitors already had the 1st place secured, Ancelotti didn't want to turn things any easy for the hosts. The main headlines for this game are all about Cristiano Ronaldo, as not only he made his return from a left thigh injury, but he has also set a new record with the 9th goal he scored last night, and that now allows him to have become the highest goalscorer ever in any UEFA Champions League group stage. Luka Modric, who had to leave the pitch after having suffered a knock late in the second half, scored a beautiful opener in the first half and has also managed to sign a great performance against Copenhagen.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Copenhagen vs Real Madrid
Copenhagen 0-2 Real Madrid goals and highlights video:
It has been a quiet and clean UEFA Champions League group stage campaign for Real Madrid, with the Chamartín club topping Group B ahead of all the competition presented by Juventus, Galatasaray and Copenhagen. The Spanish club finished this first stage of the competition with 5 wins, 1 draw and no losses, scoring 20 goals and conceding only 5. Real Madrid has also tied Manchester United and Barcelona for the most goals scored ever in a Champions League group stage (20 goals).
As usual, Ancelotti made a few rotations when preparing his team for this match against Copenhagen. Without anything at stake but match-prize money and honor, the Italian manager showed how serious he takes this Champions League competition and picked out a very strong line-up, featuring both Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. The two players didn't start a game together since that Spanish league game against Almería, on November 23.
The opener came in the 25th minute of the first half, in what was truly a magical moment witnessed at the Parken stadium. Isco was trying to find a breach on Copenhagen's defence close to the left edge of the penalty area, when he suddenly spotted Luka Modric just a few feet away from him. The Spaniard passed him the ball and then Modric quite simply owned the scene from that moment onwards. The former Tottenham midfielder got away from two defenders with a classy backheel touch and then aimed a perfect curled shot into the top left corner of Copenhagen's goal, sending Real Madrid to its first lead of the night.
The second goal would only arrive in the second half, but it actually didn't take too long for it happen... Marcelo found Pepe inside Copenhagen's area with a great long pass, and the Portuguese centre defender rose high to head the ball towards Cristiano Ronaldo. The 28-year old forward showed his usual killer instinct in that area of the field and found no trouble to tap-it in past Wiland, making it 0-2 for Real Madrid. Whatever was the plan the home side had engendered for the second half, they probably had to re-sketch right on that moment.
There would no be no more goals within the minutes the game had left, but it seems worth mentioning that Luka Modric had to leave the pitch injured close to the 82nd minute, even though it didn't look like it could be any serious at all. Ronaldo also had a golden chance to extend his UEFA Champions League goalscoring record, but he missed a penalty-kick in the 89th minute, after a good save from Copenhagen's goallkeeper, Wiland. Cristiano Ronaldo's last penalty miss had been on May 8 of 2013, on a home league game against Malaga that ended with Real Madrid's victory by 6-2. Nevertheless, Real Madrid went through on top of its group and Ronaldo has set a new UEFA Champions League group stage goalscoring record, after scoring 9 goals in 5 games.
Real Madrid line-up vs Copenhagen:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Pepe, Nacho, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Modric, Isco
Attackers: Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
---|---|---|
Copenhagen
|
vs
|
Real Madrid
|
0 |
Goals |
2 |
9 |
Shots |
15 |
1 |
Shots on goal |
11 |
3 |
Corner kicks |
9 |
20 |
Fouls commited |
11 |
1 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
39% |
Ball possession |
61% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game will be for Real Madrid, against Osasuna for the Spanish League, this Saturday (December 14, 2013). You can watch Juventus live stream, Osasuna vs Real Madrid, Barcelona vs Celtic, Chelsea vs Steaua Bucuresti and Napoli vs Arsenal, all matches provided from our soccer live section.
Real Madrid next game:
Osasuna vs Real Madrid kick-off time (14-12-2013):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+2: 16:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+1: 15:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-3: 11:00
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 10:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7: 07:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 22:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com / bbc.co.uk / sports.yahoo.com
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