Real Madrid reached the Champions League knockout phase as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema inspired them to a 6-0 thrashing of APOEL.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for Champions League goals in a calendar year as Real Madrid trounced APOEL 6-0 in Nicosia.
The 32-year-old scored his 17th and 18th goals in the competition in 2017, surpassing his previous best tally of 15 two years ago, as the holders made light work of the trip to Cyprus to book their place in the last 16.
Luka Modric broke the deadlock with a thumping volley before Karim Benzema ended his month-long wait for a goal with his first in this season’s group stage.
Nacho Fernandez and Benzema netted again in a devastating six-minute spell at the end of the first half before Ronaldo’s emphatic header put Zinedine Zidane’s side in cruise control.
The forward added extra gloss to proceedings when he capitalised on more good work from Benzema, taking his tally in the competition for Madrid to 98 in the process.
The result sends Madrid through but they must content themselves with second place, with Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund securing top spot in Group H with one match to play.
APOEL go bottom of the group.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for Champions League goals in a calendar year as Real Madrid trounced APOEL 6-0 in Nicosia.
The 32-year-old scored his 17th and 18th goals in the competition in 2017, surpassing his previous best tally of 15 two years ago, as the holders made light work of the trip to Cyprus to book their place in the last 16.
Luka Modric broke the deadlock with a thumping volley before Karim Benzema ended his month-long wait for a goal with his first in this season’s group stage.
Nacho Fernandez and Benzema netted again in a devastating six-minute spell at the end of the first half before Ronaldo’s emphatic header put Zinedine Zidane’s side in cruise control.
The forward added extra gloss to proceedings when he capitalised on more good work from Benzema, taking his tally in the competition for Madrid to 98 in the process.
The result sends Madrid through but they must content themselves with second place, with Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund securing top spot in Group H with one match to play.
APOEL go bottom of the group.
