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26.11.2014 » Basel 0-1 Real Madrid. Ronaldo led the assault to the Swiss bank
It's 15 wins on the trot now for Real Madrid, though they barely escaped by the skin of their teeth tonight in Basel, Switzerland. A solitary goal was enough for the Merengues to bring home the 3 points however, scored by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward is now tied with Raúl as the second highest UEFA Champions League scorer (71), three goals behind Barcelona's Lionel Messi (74), who just yesterday became the competition's top scorer of all-time, after netting an impressive hat-trick against APOEL, in Cyprus. Real Madrid returns to action in La Liga already this weekend, as they'll be visisiting Malaga in La Rosaleda this Saturday afternoon.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Basel vs Real Madrid
Basel 0-1 Real Madrid - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Basel:
The goal scoring move came in the second half, after some quick movement from Benzema on the left wing. Basel came into this game knowing that a showdown with Liverpool in Anfield in the next matchday will likely decide their fate. Still, the Swiss side wouldn't exactly lay back as they did when a few matchdays ago, they found themselves down 4-0 to Madrid at halftime, coincidentally the first victory in this new 15-match winning streak.
This time around, Carlo Ancelotti's men struggled to break down the spirited hosts. It was the first real chink in the armor of the "post-Luka Modric era", while Isco was fantastic, covering the whole pitch and putting in a good hardworking shift. It was apparent that the Real Madrid midfield lacked any real penetration. They settled for horizontal passes far too often, as Basel sat back and contained well.
Basel forward and 17-year-old Breel Embrolo, was a handful all night for Raphael Varane (deputizing for the rested Pepe) and Sergio Ramos. Ramos, at times, did struggle tonight, getting caught out far too often by momentary lapses in concentration. Varane had to clean up his captain's errors recurrently.
The goal finally came in the 35th minute when a brilliant series of moves from Karim Benzema on the wing freed him from his marker. The Frenchman would eventually square it to an open and appreciative Cristiano Ronaldo, who simply tapped it in a few meters from the goal line. It was Ronaldo's 71st goal in the UEFA Champions League (not counting with the one he scored for Manchester United against Debrecen in 2005, during a Champions League playoff game), equaling his predecessor for the #7 shirt, Raúl.
Keylor Navas got a rare start tonight and he was called into action in the second half, producing a brilliant diving save to preserve his clean sheet. Real Madrid had their chances too, first through a Bale rocket cannoned off the cross bar, and then when Ronaldo hit the post from just outside the six-yard-box. The miss at the culmination of some speedy counterattack work from Carlo Ancelotti's side. Still and for large parts of the game, Madrid looked a tad rusty, perhaps not fully recovered from the international break. Nevertheless, a 1-0 victory was enough to secure first place and the Merengues are now looking ahead to finish off the last game against Ludogorets in style, before learning their opponents for the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League final stages.
Author: Terrance Ross
Real Madrid line-up vs Basel:
Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas
Defenders: Fábio Coentrão, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Kroos, Isco, James Rodríguez
Attackers: Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Basel
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vs
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Real Madrid
|
0 |
Goals |
1 |
14 |
Shots |
7 |
5 |
Shots on goal |
6 |
6 |
Corner kicks |
6 |
12 |
Fouls commited |
12 |
3 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
44% |
Ball possession |
56% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game will be a Spanish League fixture against Malaga, scheduled for next Saturday, November 29. You can watch Juventus live stream, Malaga vs Real Madrid, Valencia vs Barcelona, Manchester United vs Hull, WBA vs Arsenal, and Hertha Berlin vs Bayern Munich, all matches provided from our soccer streaming game pages.
Real Madrid next game:
Malaga vs Real Madrid kick-off time (29-11-2014):
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 / uefa.com / ctvnews.ca / goal.com
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