Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema each scored a brace as Real Madrid cruised to an emphatic 6-1 win over Schalke on Wednesday night in the Champions League.
Though Schalke have been in decent form domestically Real Madrid were a class apart all night long, without needing to get out of third gear.
The game began in a cat and mouse fashion with the home side marking Cristiano Ronaldo tightly and denying Madrid space. Defender Joel Matip in particular gave the World Player of the Year no time to think, while Gareth Bale barely touched the ball in the opening exchanges. This however, lasted for the best part of ten minutes before Real put on a master class.
They opened their account through Karim Benzema in the 13th minute after Bale dribbled in from the right side. The ball fell to Ronaldo, who looked for Bale with a backheel return but the pass deflected into the path of Benzema, who grabbed his 19th goal of the season.
Schalke had a great chance seconds later when Julian Draxler struck from close range, but Iker Casillas showed he is still match sharp with a world class reflex save.
Bale produced an unbelievable piece of skill in the 20th minute to double the lead in Germany. The Welshman picked up on a pass from Benzema in space just outside the penalty area, dribbling past two Schalke defenders superbly before poking home a shot at the near post. The tie by this point felt like it was already settled, but Madrid were far from finished.
Ronaldo picked up the ball in a typical counter attack on the half hour mark, feigning with a stepover before striking a low shot at the post to give Schalke another scare. While Schalke were finding spaces of their own, the Spanish league leaders looked supremely dangerous.
Ronaldo was becoming a bigger influence, again being played through by Angel Di Maria before hitting a difficult shot at Schalke goalkeeper Fahrmann. The trend continued in the lead up to the interval as Madrid dominated all aspects of the game. Despite their efforts, it ended 2-0 at the break.
The Portuguese winger continued to torment Schalke and got his goal early in the second half. After receiving the ball from Bale, Ronaldo proceeded to throw a few stepovers before leaving the defender for dead and powering home into the far corner. The goal was reminiscent of his goal at Galatasaray in the group stage, where Real incidentally also grabbed six of the best.
Benzema then grabbed his second in a game that was becoming far, far too easy. Assisted by Ronaldo this time, the Frenchman rolled the ball home to make it 4-0 in the 56th minute. The game was well and truly over by this stage as Madrid continued to boss things.
At times, it felt as though Real could just score when they wanted. They weren't finished either, as Bale was set through for his second just shy of the 70th minute as the Schalke defence were torn to shreds again. Having yet again got in behind the back four before firing home - the gulf in class between the two clubs was obvious. Ronaldo added his second close to the end, but there was still time for one of the goals of the season in Schalke's consolation.
Klaas Jan Huntelaar's effort in injury time was an out of this world volley which smashed the underside of the bar before going in. It was a goal worthy of winning any game, but unfortunately it didn't stop Schalke being utterly outclassed for the rest of the 90 minutes.
Schalke: Fahrmann; Howedes, Matip, Felipe Santana, Kolasinac (Fuchs 76); Boateng (Goretzka 59), Neustadter; Farfan (Obasi 72), Meyer, Draxler; Huntelaar.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Alonso (Illaramendi 73), Di Maria (Isco 68); Bale (Jese 80), Benzema, Ronaldo.
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