Real Madrid resumed their UEFA Champions League campaign with a commanding performance against Shakhtar Donetsk in Kiev.
The Spanish side scored five goals past the Ukrainian outfit as they moved joint-level at the top of the group table with a win.
Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes, and Karim Benzema were among the goals as Carlo Ancelotti’s men bounced back to victory.
Real Madrid had lost their last two games prior to the international break and the game against Shakhtar was a good game to regain confidence ahead of the El Clasico on Sunday.
Ancelotti’s side had a slow start to the game and had Ferland Mendy to thank for clearing a goal-bound opportunity from the home side.
Real Madrid took the lead in the 36th minute of the game when Sergey Krivstov turned Lucas Vazquez’s cross to Benzema into his own net, the 17th own goal Madrid has benefited from in the Champions League.
That was the only goal scored in the opening 45 minutes of the game as both teams headed into the dressing room. The second period of the encounter saw Madrid run riot as they added four more goals to their opener.
Vinicius scored twice within five minutes but it was the second goal that got the needed attention. The Brazilian received a pass from Benzema before dazzling his way through the Shakhtar defence and hitting the ball past Anatolii Trubin to make it 3-0.
Eight minutes later, Vinicius turned the provider as he set up Rodrygo to extend the Los Blancos’ lead to four – the latter scoring his second goal of this season’s tournament.
The Madrid manager made five changes with Marcelo, Federico Valverde, Marco Asensio, Eduardo Camavinga, and Jesus Vallejo all making their way onto the field.
Asensio grabbed his contribution when he provided the assist for Benzema to put the game beyond the reach of Shakhtar in the 90th minute.
The results leave Madrid leveled on point with Sheriff Tiraspol, who suffered a 1-3 defeat to Inter Milan at the San Siro.
