Champions League round-up: Gareth Bale fills Cristiano Ronaldo's boots for 10-man Real Madrid
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Your support makes all the difference.Gareth Bale struck a superb opening goal for Real Madrid as the Spanish side overcame being reduced to 10 men for more than an hour to beat Roberto Mancini’s Galatasaray 4-1 at the Bernabeu.
Missing the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, Real had Sergio Ramos sent off in the 26th minute for pulling down Umut Bulut when clear on goal. However, Real still took the lead when, in the absence of the Portuguese forward, Bale stepped up for a free-kick and curled the ball around Galatasaray’s wall and into the net from 30 yards.
Bulut soon equalised after being set up by Didier Drogba yet six minutes into the second half Alvaro Arbeloa ghosted in at the far post to restore Real’s lead, then Angel di Maria and Isco made the game safe for the 10 men.
A hat-trick from Arturo Vidal, two of them penalties, propelled Juventus into second place in Real’s group as they beat FC Copenhagen 3-1. Juve go to Galatasaray for their final game needing a point to qualify.
Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain dramatically booked their place in the knockout rounds with a 90th-minute winner from Edinson Cavani against Olympiakos.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave PSG an early lead only for the game to turn when midfielder Marco Verratti was sent off just after half-time. Kostas Manolas equalised for the Greek side with 10 minutes to go and, with time running out, Cavani slid in Adrien Rabiot’s through ball for a goal that not only secured qualification but means PSG top the group.
Bayern Munich set a new Champions League record when they chalked up their 10th successive win in the competition by beating CSKA 3-1 in snowy Moscow.
Despite missing Franck Ribéry, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Mandzukic, the holders took an early lead when Arjen Robben fired home Thomas Müller’s cutback. Mario Götze added a second in the 56th minute with a fine solo effort and though Keisuke Honda cut the deficit with a penalty, Müller made the game safe with a spot-kick of his own.
“Getting 10 wins in a row is very hard and I am proud of my players, the club and everyone involved,” said the Bayern coach, Pep Guardiola, whose former club Barcelona held the previous record of nine straight victories in 2002-03. Bayern play Manchester City next.
In the other game in Manchester United’s group, Shakhtar Donetsk moved into second place with a 4-0 home win over Real Sociedad thanks to goals from Luiz Adriano, Alex Teixeira and Douglas Costa (2). Victory over United in their final game at Old Trafford would guarantee the Ukrainians top the group.
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