With a dominant display, Real Madrid put itself in prime position to reach the Champions League semifinals.Cristiano Ronaldo scored nine minutes in, and Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain added goals in a 3-0 win over Galatasaray on Wednesday night in the first leg of their quarterfinal.
Ronaldo put the nine-time champions ahead with when he split defenders Emmanuel Eboue and Semih Kaya, ran onto a perfectly weighted through-pass from Mesut Oezil and chipped goalkeeper Fernando Muslera with a left-footed shot from 10 yards. Ronaldo has 45 goals this season, including a Champions League-leading nine.
Benzema doubled the lead in the 29th with a right-footed shot from 8 yards after Michael Essien’s cross went over Eboue and landed at Benzema’s feet.Higuain replaced Benzema in the 65th and scored Madrid’s third goal eight minutes later on a 7-yard header on Xabi Alonso’s free kick.Galatasaray, led by Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder, faces a tough tak in the second leg of the total-goal series Tuesday in Turkey.
Alonso and Sergio Ramos will be suspended for the second leg for yellow-card accumulation
In Wednesday’s other game, Malaga was held to a 0-0 tie by visiting Borussia Dortmund.
In Tuesday’s games, Barcelona tied 2-2 at Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich won 2-0 at home against Juventus.
