Ronaldo record in Real win
Real forward becomes first player to score in all six Champions League group games in one season
MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to ever score in all six Champions League group games in one season as Real Madrid edged out a dispirited Borussia Dortmund 3-2 on Wednesday.
Lucas Vazquez grabbed the winner nine minutes from time for the European champions, who were already guaranteed to go through to the last 16 as runners-up in Group H to Tottenham Hotspur.
Ronaldo took his tally to nine goals in six Europan appearances this season with a spectacular long-range effort into the top corner after Borja Mayoral’s opener gave Real a 2-0 lead inside 12 minutes.
Pierre-emerick Aubameyang continued his excellent record against Madrid with a quickfire double either side of half-time to bring Dortmund level.
But despite Vazquez’s late strike, the Germans drop into the Europa League with a record low two points thanks to their better goal difference over APOEL Nicosia, who were defeated 3-0 at Spurs.
Real were, though, hit by a fresh injury blow as Raphael Varane limped off just before half-time.
Zinedine Zidane now faces a defensive crisis ahead of the visit of Sevilla on Saturday with
captain Sergio Ramos, rightback Dani Carvajal and holding midfielder Casemiro all suspended.
Zidane made six changes from the side that started Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Athletic Bilbao, but the hosts still made a flying start.
Ronaldo’s fine through ball just evaded Isco, but fell perfectly into the path of Mayoral and the 20-year-old kept his cool to chip the onrushing Roman Burki for his first Champions League goal.
By contrast, Ronaldo had his 114th in the competition moments later as he lined up a sumptuous strike from 25 yards.
However, the warning signs of a Dortmund recovery were in evidence as the first-half wore on as Varane had to make lastditch challenges to deny Aubameyang and Shinji Kagawa.
Aubameyang has spoken openly of his desire to play for Madrid one day and did his case of a dream move no harm with two classy finishes either side of half-time.
Once Varane limped off, Aubameyang was left free inside the box to plant a diving header inside the far corner two minutes before half-time.
And just four minutes after the break Dortmund were level as Aubameyang dinked a lovely finish over Keylor Navas after his initial effort had been saved by the Madrid goalkeeper.
Ronaldo was wrongly denied his second of the night by the offside flag as he prodded home from close range.
But moments later Madrid did grab the winner when Vazquez’s effort trundled past Burki, who was slow to react as the ball nestled in the bottom corner.
Dortmund should still have earned a share of the points, but Kagawa blasted a glorious chance over the bar as the German giants’ run without a win in the Champions League or Bundesliga stretched to 11 games.
LAKSHYA IN TOP 100
NEW DELHI: Kidambi Srikanth improved a rung to be at the fourth position, while Lakshya Sen entered the top 100 after jumping 19 places to reach the 89th spot in the latest BWF world badminton rankings. In women’s singles, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal retained their third and 10th places respectively, while Rituparna Das entered the top 50 after improving three places to reach the 49th spot.
INDIA EYE SWEEP GUWAHATI:INDIA stayed on course for a clean sweep in the 1st South Asian Regional Badminton Tournament. In the men’s singles, top seeded Aryaman Tandon beat fourth seeded Nabin Shrestha of Nepal 21-6, 19-21, 21-19. He will face Arintap Dasgupta in the final. Arintap beat Dipesh Dhami of Nepal 20-22, 21-15, 21-14. The girls’ final will also be an all Indian affair with Aakarshi Kashyap taking on Ashmita Chaliha.
AMITY POLO CUP
NEWDELHI: Sahara Warriors beat Beast Carnatic by 6-2 and Aravali Polo beat Adie Broswon 5-2 in the league matches of the Amity Polo Cup at the Jaipur Poloc Ground on Thursday.
SHOOTING CONTINGENT NEWDELHI: Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang will lead a 37-member Indian contingent at the 10th Asian Championship 10m Rifle/pistol, which is set to get underway at the Asaka Shooting Range in Wako city, Japan, from Friday. A total of 407 athletes from 27 countries will take part in the 12 finals scheduled over the next four days.
DELHI SWIMMER WINS NEWDELHI:DELHI’S Tanmay Das, a student of Delhi Public School, won gold in U-16 boys swimming competition in the ongoing Pacific School Games being held at Adelaide, Australia. The School Games Federation of India (SGFI) has fielded teams in six disciplines including hockey, football and swimming.