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Real Madrid celebrate - Source: Reuters -
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and won a penalty to lead Real
Madrid to a 3-0 win over Olympique Marseille and top spot in
Champions League Group C on Thursday.
Marseille successfully foiled Real until the Portugal winger
inspired his side to three goals in six minutes early in the second
half.
Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the 58th minute and was brought down
for a penalty a minute later, when visiting defender Souleymane
Diawara was sent off.
Kaka scored from the spot and Ronaldo bagged his second in the 64th
to leave Real with two wins from two.
"The game was evenly-balanced for 45 minutes but we were clearly
superior for the second 45 minutes," Real coach Manuel Pellegrini
said.
Pellegrini sent out his big guns from the start with Kaka, Ronaldo
and Benzema leading the line, but they saw little of the ball with
his side struggling to find any rhythm early on.
Pellegrini looked a concerned figure on the edge of his technical
area and the visitors carved the first clear opening when Mamadou
Niang forced Iker Casillas to save in a one-on-one after 26
minutes.
Ronaldo raised the home crowd's spirits with a couple of long-range
efforts, and then just before the interval, Kaka backheeled a ball
through for Benzema who was denied by a smart save from Steve
Mandanda.
The game exploded into life early in the second half with a classic
bit of route-one football. Pepe's long ball out of defence sent
Ronaldo scampering clear and he calmly put the ball underneath
Mandanda.
Disputed penalty
With the crowd up a minute later, Ronaldo tore off down the left
wing and evaded Gabriel Heinze only to be taken out by the covering
Diawara as he cut into the area.
The Marseille defender was sent off and Kaka scored the
penalty.
"It was a very harsh decision to give a penalty and then to send
off our player. After the penalty the game was over for us,"
Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said.
"For one hour we played a good game and we had chances in the first
half. I don't think the result was fair."
Pellegrini disputed Deschamps view of the penalty decision:
"I have seen the condition of Ronaldo's ankle and I don't think the
referee got it wrong. We'll have to see whether he'll make it for
the trip to Sevilla on Sunday.
The visitors barely had time to recover when Real sliced them open
again. Benzema played a one-two with Kaka on the edge of the area
and slipped the ball across the goal for Ronaldo to net at the far
post.
Ronaldo was given a standing ovation as he left the pitch in the
70th minute, limping from Diawara's earlier challenge.
Marseille battled on with 10 men and Ezequiel Garay had to boot the
ball off Real's line at the end, after Hatem Ben Arfa's
cross-cum-shot hit the post, and rolled across the area.
