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01.11.2014 » Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool. Benzema goal broke the Reds' resistance
After securing their fourth win in 4 games, Real Madrid have assured their passage to the UEFA Champions League last-16 stage, following another victory over Liverpool, this time by a narrow scoreline of 1-0. Even though the reigning European champions found little trouble in dominating possession in tonight's game at the Santiago Bernabéu, they've only managed to shake the back of Liverpool's net once. The goalscorer was the French striker Karim Benzema, who confirmed his status as Real Madrid's top scorer in the Champions League this season (5 goals), after finishing off a great cross from Marcelo, still in the first half. Cristiano Ronaldo on the other hand, didn't get to score this Wednesday night and will remain, for at least a few more weeks, one goal behind Raúl's all-time scoring record in the Champions League, currently set at the 71-goal mark.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Real Madrid vs Liverpool
Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Liverpool:
Real Madrid got to their 12th consecutive win this season, after easily disposing of Liverpool for a second time in less than 2 weeks. However and unlike what had happened in Anfield Road on October 22, this time around Brendan Rodgers preferred not to line-up his strongest eleven at the Bernabéu, clearly prioritizing his Barclays Premier League agenda for this weekend, where a Liverpool vs Chelsea clash is certain to draw all the media and fans' attention in England.
As if leaving several of the team's key players on the bench wasn't enough for Brendan Rodgers to make of Liverpool an even bigger underdog coming into this game, Carlo Ancelotti was determined to show he wasn't in the mood to play around in his own backyard and decided to bank on the strongest line-up possible for tonight. The Italian manager has done only a couple changes in his usual back-four and gave no rest to his midfielders and attacking men, except for Gareth Bale who would start on the bench to come in later in the second half of the game.
Ancelotti lined-up with Iker Casillas in goal, a decision which immediately allowed for the team's captain to become the player with the most appearances ever in the UEFA Champions League (144), surpassing FC Barcelona's Xavi Hernández. In front of him, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Varane and Arbeloa completed the defensive block. In midfield, Ancelotti's choices fell upon Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, James Rodríguez and Isco, leaving only two slots left for the attacking positions and which ended up being filled by Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
The only goal scored tonight was born in a quick exchange of passes already inside Liverpool's own half, involving Toni Kroos, Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo. The Brazilian full-back was in fact the last one from those four players picking up a pass in this build-up play and once he collected it, he sent in a quite strong cross into the far post, where he had spotted Karim Benzema in a privileged position and lurking to draw the first blood.
The Frenchman was keen to slide in to meet his teammate's pass and easily pushed in the ball into the back of Mignolet's net, making it 1-0 to Real Madrid. The 26-year old forward was happy to have scored his 5th goal in the UEFA Champions League this season, which now puts him 2 goals on top of Cristiano Ronaldo (3) in the competition's scoring standings, but still one behind Luiz Adriano (6) from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Wrapping up the 3 points this Wednesday night allowed Real Madrid not only to secure right away the qualification into the UEFA Champions League knock-out stages, but also to virtually assure that they'll be doing that by finishing their group as leaders. The Merengues are currently in first place with 12 points, Basel comes second with 6 points, while Liverpool is third tied with Ludogoretz Razgrad, both sides with 3 points. The European club action for these 4 teams returns on November 26...
Real Madrid line-up vs Liverpool:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Kroos, Modric, James Rodríguez, Isco
Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Real Madrid
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vs
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Liverpool
|
1 |
Goals |
0 |
16 |
Shots |
3 |
10 |
Shots on goal |
1 |
7 |
Corner kicks |
1 |
8 |
Fouls commited |
12 |
3 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
57% |
Ball possession |
43% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid is a La Liga fixture against RAyo Vallecano, scheduled for next Saturday, the 8th of November. You can watch Juventus live stream, Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano, Ajax vs Barcelona, Manchester City vs CSKA Moscow, Maribor vs Chelsea, and Bayern Munich vs AS Roma, all matches provided from our live streams game pages.
Real Madrid next game:
Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano kick-off time (08-11-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+6: 01:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 20:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 19:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-4: 15:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 14:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8 11:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+7: 02:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com / theguardian.com / dailymail.co.uk
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