Real Madrid gained confidence after their painful loss to Atletico Madrid in La Liga, by emphatically beating Copenhagen 4-0. A brilliant Angel di Maria led Los Blancos to secure the first spot in the Group B of the Champions League, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
Copenhagen seemed to have learned the lesson from Atletico Madrid, as they kept their midfield and defence lines tightly close since the beginning, making it difficult for Los Merengues to bring the ball to Karim Benzema and Ronaldo.
However, unlike in the derby, this time the Portuguese and the Frenchman stepped back more frequently, trying to get into play and help creating free spaces for their team mates. That left free way for Marcelo and Daniel Carvajal to join the attacks.
The switch of full-backs was the main difference from Atletico’s game, as both the Brazilian and the Spanish youngster clearly gave more offensive options than Fabio Coentrao and Alvaro Arbeloa.
Thus, Real’s main threat came from the wings. Benzema should have scored the first after only six minutes when he received a cross from Marcelo, but his header went out for a few centimetres.
In the 21st minute, another perfect cross from Marcelo allowed Ronaldo to put Madrid in front. The ball cleared the defence and the goalkeeper, who couldn’t reach the ball, and the Portuguese easily found the back of the net with a nice header.
Benzema was very active and received the applause of Bernabeu fans for his constant effort. In the 24th minute he made a brilliant play inside the box and assisted Di Maria, who shot a powerful strike wide of the right-hand post.
The Danish brought only brought some trouble to Iker Casillas in counterattacks and high balls. They had a great chance to draw in a corner. The goalkeeper failed in his attempt to clear the ball allowing Jorgensen to send a header to goal, but Modric blasted the ball away from the line.
After the half-time, Di Maria opened his box of tricks to seal the victory. The Argentinian reached the byline and delivered a sublime cross with a bit of skill. Ronaldo was there to bullet a header home.
A few minutes later, Di Maria settled it for Real. He picked up the ball on the right wing, drifted inside and sent a strong strike into the left corner. When the game was about to end, the Argentinian made another brilliant play and shot to the bottom right corner to make it 4-0.
Copenhagen had three consecutive chances to score a consolation goal in stoppage time, but Casillas denied all shots with three world-class saves.
