Match ends, Real Madrid 5, FC Basel 1.
Real Madrid 5-1 FC Basel
- From the section Football
Gareth Bale starred as holders Real Madrid thrashed Swiss side Basel to begin the defence of their Champions League title in impressive style.
After a Marek Suchy own goal had put Real ahead, Wales winger Bale smartly lobbed the keeper before finishing.
Bale set up Cristiano Ronaldo to tap in, James Rodriguez hit a fourth and Karim Benzema swept in a late fifth. Derlis Gonzalez scored for Basel.
Elsewhere, last season's finalists Atletico Madrid lost 3-2 at Olympiakos.
| Champions League group-stage facts |
|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 53 goals in 52 Champions League appearances for Real Madrid |
| Atletico Madrid conceded three times on Tuesday, the same amount as during their entire Champions League group stage last season |
| Carlos Tevez scored his first Champions League goal since April 2009 - a period of 1003 minutes of play |
All but one of Real's goals came in a first-half in which they were rampant, before Benzema struck late on after exchanging passes with Ronaldo for Real's 1,000th goal in European football.
The win will come as a welcome boost for manager Carlo Ancelotti, with the Spanish side having made a disappointing start to the season in La Liga.
After beginning the campaign with a 2-0 win against Cordoba, they lost their last two games in La Liga - including a 2-1 defeat at home against city rivals Atletico last time out.
The result puts Real top of Group B, level on points with Liverpool after they edged Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad 2-1 at Anfield.
Atletico lost to Real in last season's Champions League final and they made a losing start to the current tournament, with on-loan Fulham striker Kostas Mitroglou getting the decisive third for Olympiakos in Greece.
The hosts took the lead thanks to Arthur Masuaku's superb strike from just outside the area, before Ibrahim Afellay drove in a second midway through the first half.
Mario Mandzukic headed in for Atletico to halve the deficit, but Mitroglou restored Olympiakos's two-goal advantage. Antoine Griezmann scored late on for Atletico.
Olympiakos are level with Juventus on three points in Group A, with Carlos Tevez scoring his first Champions League goals since 2009 to give the Italian champions a 2-0 victory at home to Swedish side Malmo.
Former Manchester City striker Tevez slotted in the opener after running on to Kwadwo Asamoah's clever backheel, before the Argentina international curled home a 90th-minute free-kick.
In Group C, Andre Villas-Boas's Zenit won 2-0 at 10-man Benfica. Hulk slotted in the opener for the Russian side before Benfica had goalkeeper Artur sent off. Alex Witsel then headed in the game's second goal.
Monaco also won in Group C, with Joao Moutinho's deflected second-half strike enough to give the French side a 1-0 win at home to Germany's Bayer Leverkusen.
Finally, Borussia Dortmund beat Arsenal 2-0 to go top of Group D, with Belgian side Anderlecht and Turkey's Galatasaray sharing a 1-1 draw.
Line-ups
Real Madrid
- 1Casillas
- 12Marcelo
- 18Nacho
- 4RamosSubstituted forVaraneat 66'minutes
- 3PepeBooked at 85mins
- 19ModricSubstituted forIllarramendiat 74'minutes
- 8Kroos
- 10Rodríguez
- 11Bale
- 7Cristiano Ronaldo
- 9BenzemaSubstituted forJavier Hernándezat 82'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Varane
- 5da Silva Coentrão
- 13Navas
- 14Javier Hernández
- 17Arbeloa
- 23Isco
- 24Illarramendi
FC Basel
- 1Vaclik
- 6SamuelBooked at 60minsSubstituted forKakitaniat 64'minutes
- 17Suchy
- 16Schär
- 20FreiSubstituted forDelgadoat 83'minutes
- 33ElnenyBooked at 55mins
- 19Safari
- 34XhakaBooked at 90mins
- 9StrellerSubstituted forEmboloat 73'minutes
- 25González
- 7Zuffi
Substitutes
- 10Delgado
- 11Gashi
- 14Kakitani
- 18Vailati
- 27Aliji
- 36Embolo
- 39Callà
- Referee:
- Damir Skomina
- Attendance:
- 65,364
Match Stats
Home TeamReal MadridAway TeamFC Basel
- Possession
- Home54%
- Away46%
- Shots
- Home22
- Away16
- Shots on Target
- Home9
- Away5
- Corners
- Home7
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home8
- Away8
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Real Madrid 5, FC Basel 1.
Booking
Taulant Xhaka (FC Basel) is shown the yellow card.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Fabian Schär (FC Basel).
Attempt missed. Nacho (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Behrang Safari.
Attempt missed. Breel Embolo (FC Basel) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Behrang Safari.
Offside, FC Basel. Taulant Xhaka tries a through ball, but Derlis González is caught offside.
Booking
Pepe (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Pepe (Real Madrid).
Breel Embolo (FC Basel) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by James Rodríguez (Real Madrid).
Luca Zuffi (FC Basel) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Breel Embolo (FC Basel) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Luca Zuffi with a cross following a set piece situation.
Substitution
Substitution, FC Basel. Matías Delgado replaces Fabian Frei.
Foul by Nacho (Real Madrid).
Yoichiro Kakitani (FC Basel) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution
Substitution, Real Madrid. Javier Hernández replaces Karim Benzema.
Attempt missed. Mohamed Elneny (FC Basel) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Breel Embolo with a headed pass.
Goal!
Goal! Real Madrid 5, FC Basel 1. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Offside, Real Madrid. Pepe tries a through ball, but Cristiano Ronaldo is caught offside.
James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Taulant Xhaka (FC Basel).
Fabian Schär (FC Basel) hits the right post with a left footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Breel Embolo.
Attempt missed. Mohamed Elneny (FC Basel) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, FC Basel. Conceded by Pepe.
Substitution
Substitution, Real Madrid. Asier Illarramendi replaces Luka Modric.
Substitution
Substitution, FC Basel. Breel Embolo replaces Marco Streller.
Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Nacho with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Tomás Vaclik.
Attempt saved. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by James Rodríguez with a through ball.
Attempt missed. Derlis González (FC Basel) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Luca Zuffi.
Attempt blocked. Luca Zuffi (FC Basel) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Pepe (Real Madrid).
Marco Streller (FC Basel) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, FC Basel. Conceded by Iker Casillas.
Attempt saved. Derlis González (FC Basel) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Substitution
Substitution, Real Madrid. Raphael Varane replaces Sergio Ramos.
Attempt blocked. Yoichiro Kakitani (FC Basel) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Mohamed Elneny.