By FRANCO PANIZO
Cristiano Ronaldo is sure making that contract extension look like a smart move on Real Madrid’s part right about now.
Ronaldo scored a hat-trick on Tuesday as the Spanish giants cruised to a 6-1 victory over Galatasaray in their Group B match in Turkey. Ronaldo netted his first two goals four minutes apart in the second half before capping the dominant Real Madrid performance with a stoppage-time strike.
Isco opened the scoring for Madrid in the 34th minute before Karim Benzema netted the first of his two goals on the day nine minutes after halftime. Ronaldo largely took over from there, though Galatasaray got a late consolation goal through Umut Bulut.
Wayne Rooney also had himself a memorable individual performance. The English forward scored on each side of halftime to bag a brace and help Manchester United grab a 4-2 win at home against Bayer Leverkusen. The Group A victory, which also included goals from Robin van Persie and Antonio Valencia, came in David Moyes’ first Champions League match in charge of the Red Devils.
Manchester’s other big club was victorious on Tuesday as well. Manchester City enjoyed a victory on the road in Group D, defeating Viktoria Pizen, 3-0, at Strunvcovy Sady Stadion. Edin Dzeko scored the winner shortly after halftime and Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero added insurance goals.
Defending champions Bayern Munich kept pace with City in Group D after cruising to a triumph by the same scoreline against CSKA Moscow. David Alaba set the tone for the match with a third-minute winner, and Mario Mandzukic and Arjen Robben also found the back of the net.
Here’s a full rundown of Tuesday’s results:
Group A
Manchester United 4-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Real Sociedad 0-2 Shakhtar Donetsk
Group B
FC Copenhagen 1-1 Juventus
Galatasaray 1-6 Real Madrid
Group C
Benfica 2-0 Anderlecht
Olympiakos 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain
Group D
Bayern Munich 3-0 CSKA Moscow
Viktoria Pizen 0-3 Manchester City
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What do you think of these results? How impressed are you by Ronaldo’s performance in Madrid’s win? Do you see Moyes’ Manchester United making a deep run this season?
Share your thoughts below.