In a two-minute span, Cristiano Ronaldo showed how dangerous he can be when he is playing up to his highest potential.
Moments after slicing a free kick through an opening in the AC Milan wall and into the goal, Ronaldo knifed through the Milan defense and played a pass in the box to Mesut Ozil, whose deflected shot fortuitously found the back of the net to give Real Madrid a two-goal edge in the 14th minute.
The two plays were all Real Madrid needed to dispatch Milan, 2-0, at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Tuesday's much-anticipated UEFA Champions League Group G match.
Since the calendar turned to October, Ronaldo has been on fire. He has scored seven goals and notched three assists in his last five games, spanning La Liga, Euro 2012 qualifying and Champions League play.
Here are highlights from Real Madrid's victory, followed by the rest of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League scores:
ARSENAL 5, SHAKHTAR DONETSK 1
The Gunners are approaching full strength, and it showed with a five-goal outburst at the Emirates. Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott returned to action from injury and Nicklas Bendtner returned to the bench but did not play in the rout.
Alex Song opened the scoring in the 19th minute, followed by a Samir Nasri goal just before halftime. Fabregas scored on a penalty kick at the hour mark, and Jack Wilshere and Marouane Chamakh poured it on with goals in the 66th and 69th minutes, respectively.
Former Arsenal striker Eduardo tallied a consolation goal for the visitors, who are still in second place in Group H despite the loss.
As for Tuesday's other scores:
- Braga 2, Partizan Belgrade 0
- Spartak Moscow 0, Chelsea 2
- Marseille 1, MSK Zilina 0
- AS Roma 1, FC Basel 3
- Bayern Munich 3, CFR Cluj 2
- Ajax Amsterdam 2, AJ Auxerre 1
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Impressed by Real Madrid and Arsenal? Starting to think this could be Ronaldo's year? Which other results stood out for you?
Share your thoughts below.
October came and I still love Ronaldo.
October came and I still hate Ronaldo
Di Maria looks like C. Ronaldo’s genetically less fortunate brother. It’s eerie.
Ozil has proven to be a great partner for Ronaldo — phenomenal skill but does not seem to have a big ego. Di Maria is another story.