Real Madrid vs. Malmo: Score and Reaction from 2015 Champions League

Real Madrid finished their 2015-16 Champions League group-stage campaign with an emphatic 8-0 win over Malmo at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, as Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record for goals in the group stages, and Karim Benzema added a hat-trick of his own.     

Los Blancos dominated from start to finish and were ruthless in front of goal, scoring almost at will. The final score wasn't even an exaggeration, and Ronaldo, who finished with an incredible four goals, even missed two open chances to add to his tally. Mateo Kovacic also got on the scoresheet.

Real were supremely efficient, which doesn't bode well for whichever team meets the Spanish giants in the next round of competition.

As shared by the club's official Twitter account, Real decided to rest a handful of key starters, although the likes of Ronaldo, Benzema and James Rodriguez were still in the starting XI:

The hosts immediately went on the offensive, pushing Malmo well back into their own half. Benzema tested goalkeeper Johan Wiland early after a well-worked passing move, but his shot hardly troubled the stopper.

Real dominated possession and moved the ball around at high speed, with only Enoch Kofi Adu seemingly capable of keeping up. The Bernabeu seemed satisfied with their club's attacking intentions, although they were anxious to see the dominance turned into goals.

It didn't take long for Benzema to break the deadlock, latching onto a rebound after Isco's initial shot was turned off the line. Gareth Bale was happy with how the match was playing out:

The early advantage did little to slow Real's attack, as Los Blancos pushed even further up the pitch in search of a second goal. Only goalkeeper Kiko Casilla seemed to spend the majority of his time inside his own half—even Real's defenders were camped on Malmo's side.

It took 20 minutes for Malmo to finally string together an attacking move, and just as the visitors seemed to be finding some space, Real struck again. Ronaldo created an opening on the right wing and fired a cross towards an unmarked Benzema, who powered a header past Wiland to double his tally.

AS English couldn't believe the poor marking from the Malmo defence:

Ronaldo should have made it 3-0 minutes later after some lovely work from Isco, but he somehow failed to find the mark with a header from close range. The Portuguese superstar quickly redeemed himself, however, scoring a superb free-kick after 39 minutes.

Wiland should have done better, but Ronaldo's strike dipped just in time to confuse the stopper.

Ronaldo had another massive chance to double his tally just before half-time but inexplicably blasted an easy tap-in from close range over the bar.

Once again, he bounced back from a bad miss in a big way after half-time, scoring two goals in just two minutes to give himself the hat-trick and the new record for Champions League goals in the group stages, per AS English:

First, he blasted a rebound high into the roof of the goal after Kovacic's initial shot was blocked, and just minutes later, he scored a typical Ronaldo goal, showing quick feet in creating space in the box before firing the ball past Wiland again.

Goal's Robin Bairner could't believe he essentially set the new record in just four matches:

And the current Ballon d'Or holder still wasn't finished. Eight minutes after completing his hat-trick, he smartly timed a run across the box to get on the end of a cross from Isco and directed it into the net for his fourth goal.

Former England international Gary Lineker was full of praise:

Now leading by six goals, Madrid manager Rafael Benitez made the decision to substitute a handful of players, including Rodriguez, who made way for Jese Rodriguez.

Malmo saw more from the ball after Ronaldo's barrage of goals but only opened themselves up to the counter-attack, and with momentum now fully with Los Blancos, seemingly every chance resulted in a goal. 

Kovacic got on the scoresheet in the 70th minute, as the Malmo defence was caught napping after a Wiland save. Bwin felt comfortable saying the hosts would emerge victorious at this point:

Benzema finally got his hat-trick four minutes later, cutting for space inside the box before sliding the ball into the back of the net. Denis Cheryshev hit the posts in the final minutes, the last real chance of the match.

Los Blancos haven't been the most consistent side in 2015-16, but their Champions League form has been fantastic, particularly in the attacking third. They have to be considered favourites for the title once again along with Barcelona and Bayern Munich. 

Post-Match Reaction

As reported by AS (h/t Football Espana), Benitez thought the lopsided win proved he's not a defensive coach:

"

I’ve always said I’m not defensive and this is a demonstration of that.

I’m proud [of the record win] and I thought today we could have beaten it. I’m satisfied with the team. I hope the fans enjoyed it.

We expected a strange game because they had to win to be third. We eventually found our rhythm and the match went for us. The goal at the start of the second half said it all. We scored eight but it could have been more.

"

Per Football Espana, the 8-0 final score marked the second time one of Benitez's teams have won by such a wide margin, as he once guided Liverpool to a win over Besiktas by the same score. He came agonisingly close to breaking his personal record, but Cheryshev's late strike hit the wrong side of the post.

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