Cristiano Ronaldo scored his seventh Champions League hat-trick to help Real Madrid secure a comfortable 3-0 victory against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night, writes MARSHALL GOUTS.
Zinedine Zidane made two changes to his squad that defeated Valencia 2-1 in their La Liga encounter on the weekend, with Raphael Varane and Isco replacing Nacho and James Rodriguez in the starting line-up.
Diego Simeone made two changes from his side that defeated Las Palmas 5-0 in the most recent league clash, with Diego Godin and Yannick Carrasco being drafted in to replace Juanfran and Nico Gaitán respectively.
The game got off to a lively start, with Atletico defender Filipe Luís finding himself involved at both ends early on, surging forward to help in attack, before getting back to help his side defend a Madrid attack.
Los Blancos were presented with their first chance of the game in the seventh minute, when Carvajal’s neat interchange with Isco saw the defender roam into the box, before unleashing an effort at goal, which was parried away by Oblak. The Atletico goalkeeper showed great reaction and reflexes to save Benzema’s follow up effort.
The home side were rewarded for their attacking efforts in the tenth minute when Cristiano Ronaldo headed home Casemiro’s ball into the area, after some good work on the byline by Sergio Ramos.
Madrid continued to pile the pressure on the visitors, who struggled to deal with a number of Toni Kroos’ set-pieces. Simeone’s side also struggled to get into their rhythm and were mere spectators to Madrid’s wave of attacks in the opening twenty minutes.
Atletico came agonisingly close to levelling matters when Gameiro broke through the Madrid defence, but with only Navas to beat, the Frenchman’s attempt to round the keeper came to nothing.
Benzema could have doubled his sides advantage in the second half when he got on to the end of Ronaldo’s enticing cross, but the forward’s overhead volley ballooned over the crossbar.
Atletico were arguably fortunate to head into the half-time break trailing by only one goal, following a dominant display of football by Madrid in the first stanza.
Nacho replaced the injured Carvajal at the start of the second half as Madrid continued their high intensity, which saw the hosts get little joy in the Madrid final third.
Simeone opted for the final roll of the dice, making all three substitutions in quick succession, bringing on Fernando Torres, Nico Gaitan and Angel Correa to replace Kevin Gameiro, Saul Niguez and Carrasco respectively.
Zidane’s side all but sealed the win in the 73rd minute when Ronaldo grabbed his brace after collecting a pass from Benzema, before thumping it past a hapless Oblak to make it 2-0.
Substitute Lucas Vázquez could have added a third late on after being teed up by Marco Asensio, but the winger steered his effort wide as Madrid continued to surge forward.
Ronaldo capped a fine display by scoring his third in the 86th minute, his seventh Champions League hat-trick, to secure a resounding 3-0 victory and ensure Madrid have one foot in the final.
Photo: Champions League website
