10-man Madrid make Last 16

Goals from Gareth Bale, Alvaro Arbeloa, Angel Di Maria and Isco gave Real Madrid a 4-1 win over Galatasaray and a place in the Last 16.

With Cristiano Ronaldo injured and Karim Benzema rested, Angel Di Maria and Jese Rodriguez came into the Blancos XI in attack, whilst in midfield, a youthful trio of Casemiro, Isco and Asier Illarramendi started the match.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men went into the game knowing that if they avoided defeat they would qualify for the Last 16 of the competition. And as such, they dominated the opening exchanges, almost going ahead within five minutes – a ball from Isco found Gareth Bale, but the Welshman fired wide from the edge of the area.

Casemiro was displaying his full range of passing early on, and released Marcelo down the left-hand side on more than one occasion. The full-back’s pass to Jese though, was blocked by Emmanuel Eboue when a goal looked odds-on.

On the half hour however, Madrid’s relative ease was challenged when Sergio Ramos pulled down Umut Bulut just outside the area, and the Spain international was given a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

It didn’t seem to matter though, as on 37 minutes, Bale struck a sumptuous free kick from all of 35 yards that nestled into the top left-hand corner.

Almost immediately however, Didier Drogba burst past Nacho, flicked for Umut Bulut, and the Turkish forward struck past Iker Casillas for an equaliser.

After the break, the Santiago Bernabeu outfit sprinted out of the blocks and regained the lead immediately as Di Maria crossed for Arbeloa, who tapped in from close range.

And with just over an hour gone, the game was essentially over as Arbeloa teed up Di Maria this time, and the Argentine winger finished well under Eray.

Drogba went close with a header for the Turkish team, but it was Isco who got the next goal as the young Spaniard waltzed his way through the defence, and tapped in for a fourth.

Real Madrid 4-1 Galatasaray

Scorers: Bale 37 (RM), Arbeloa 51 (RM), Di Maria 64 (RM) Isco 81 (RM); Umut 39 (G)

Real Madrid: Casillas, Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo (Carvajal 74), Casemiro (Xabi Alonso 58), Illarramendi, Isco, Di María, Bale, Jesé (Nacho 28)

Galatasaray: Eray; Eboue, Gökhan, Chedjou, Dany; Bruma (Sneijder 64), Selçuk, Melo, Amrabat (Riera 67); Umut, Drogba

Red card: Sergio Ramos 27 (RM)

Tags Galatasaray
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