Cristiano Ronaldo hits a hat-trick as Real Madrid ran in the second half against Galatasaray to send a threatening message to the other teams about their ambitions in the Champions League with a 6-1 victory in Istanbul In the opening match of the tournament for the Los Blancos.
Galatasaray started the game with enthusiasm and threatened Real Madrid several times, but they crumbled after Isco scored the first goal after 33′ minutes. After the first goal, Real Madrid dominated the rest of the game and scored five goals in the second half two of them were by Benzema (54′, 81′) and three by Cristiano Ronaldo (63′, 66′, 90′). Six minutes before the end of the match Galatasaray scored their first and only goal in the game (84′). Gareth Bale started the match on the bench, but came on midway through the second half and created one of Ronaldo’s goals and made a great performance.
Iker Casillas was the goal keeper and started ahead of Diego Lopez after being told by coach Carlo Ancelotti that he would be the goalkeeper in Champions Leage while Diego Lopez plays in La Liga. However, his night soon came to a premature end when he took an elbow to the ribs from his colleague Sergio Ramos and was substituted in the 13th minute for Diego Lopez who did a great job in protecting Real Madrid from many attacks. Most of Madrid fans were disappointed when they saw the team’s captain leaving the match injured. Casillas spent a lot of time on the bench for technical reasons since his injury last season against Valencia. At that time, Real Madrid bought Diego Lopez to take over Casillas place temporarily until the Captain comes back from his injury. However that did not happen because of Diego Lopez’s Amazing performance and that is why Casillas lost his place and spent most of the games in the bench. This game was the chance to see the Captain of Real Madrid and Spain playing in competitive games again. After all, Madridista were happy of the victory and the great performance of the players.
Here is the game facts by eurosport.com
- Real Madrid have won more games (106) than any other club in the history of the Champions League.
- This was Real Madrid’s first ever win in Turkey in European competition, having failed to triumph in their previous three attempts.
- Cristiano Ronaldo now has 206 goals in 204 matches for Real Madrid
PLAYER RATINGS –
GALATASARAY: Muslera 6, Eboue 5, Chedjou 6, Dany 5, Riera 6, Selçuk 6, Melo 6, Sneijder 5, Engin 5, Burak 5, Drogba 6. Subs: Bruma 7, Amrabat 6, Bulut 7.
REAL MADRID: Casillas 6, Ramos 6, Pepe 6, Carvajal 6, Arbeloa 6, Khedira 6, Modric 6, Di Maria 8, Isco 8, Ronaldo 9, Benzema 8. Subs: Lopez 6, Bale 6, Illaramendi 6.
MAN OF THE MATCH – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid): The irrepressible Portuguese ace was in devastating form in the second period, netting yet another treble and a stunning third and final goal of the night.
- Galatasaray Vs Real Madrid 1-6 2013 All Goals and Full Highlights 17/09/2013
Madridista Soccer 
Let’s see how they hold up with Juventus on the horizon. That game is the deciding factor in how far Carlo Ancelotti can lead this team. But either way, it’s all good, we will see you in the knockout stages!
Juventus hasn’t had the best start this season. I know that they signed in several good players this season, but they drew in their first game in Campions League against FC Copenhagen who isn’t as good as the other teams in CL. Also, they are in the 5th place in Serie A. We’ll see how Carlo Ancelotti is going to deal with that game and hopefully we’ll meet with Chelsea in the knockout stages!