(Sporting Alert) — Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale each scored two goals and Real Madrid hammered Schalke 6-1 in their Champions League last 16 first leg clash on Wednesday.
Video Highlights: Real Madrid 6 v Schalke 1
The commanding victory sees the Spanish La Liga outfit put one foot into the quarter-finals, with the second to be played in Spain in three weeks.
Former Real Madrid forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar got the only goal for Schalke, who face an almost impossible task of getting back into the two-way tie.
Real Madrid came into the contest strong favorites, but few imagined it would be like this.
“We knew that Real would use the space we would give them after they scored the opener and they simply punished us for every mistake we made,” Schalke boss Jens Keller said. “We are a young team that still has lots to learn at this level.
“We made too many simple mistakes. We had a good start, played bravely until we conceded the opener. A mistake allowed Real to score the opener but we immediately had the chance for the equaliser.
“These types of chances don’t come along that often against a side like Real. When you make that many mistakes against Real they will punish you without a second thought.”
