[caption id="attachment_141367" align="alignleft" width="422"]
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, center, scores his side’s 3rd goal during the Champions League group H soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid CF in Dortmund, Germany on Tuesday. (AP/PTI)[/caption]
Dortmund (Germany), Sep. 27 (IANS): Real Madrid outclassed Borussia Dortmund 3-1 while Manchester City had to fight hard to overcome a tough Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 in their respective matches in the group stage of the 2017-2018 Champions League football tournament.
Real Madrid, winless in their last six visits to Borussia Dortmund, rode on a brace by Cristiano Ronaldo to defeat the former German champions 3-1 at Signal Iduna Park here on Tuesday evening, reports Efe news agency.
Real Madrid are now on six points. They share the lead in Group H with Tottenham Hotspur, who won 3-0 away to APOEL Nicosia on Tuesday thanks to Harry Kane’s hat trick.
Both Dortmund and APOEL remain without a point.
Real Madrid took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute of the match in Dortmund, when Gareth Bale capitalised on a perfect pass from Dani Carvajal.
Bale went on to provide an assist to Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal in the 50th minute to make it 2-0 for the visitors.
Four minutes later, however, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pulled one back for the hosts but Ronaldo scored again in the 79th minute to seal the win.
In Donetsk, the high-powered Man City offensive ran into a resilient defence.
Coming into the match having scored 20 goals in their last four matches, the English side were held at bay for the first 45 minutes and needed second-half goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling to come away with all three points.
With six points, City lead Group F. The second place in the group belongs to Napoli who are on three points.
Napoli beat Feyenoord 3-1 on Tuesday, with goals from Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon.
Shakhtar also have three points but trail Napoli on goal difference. Feyenoord are yet to earn a point.
Wissam Ben Yedder made history for Sevilla on Tuesday, becoming the club’s first player to score three goals in a Champions League match.
The 3-0 win against Maribor boosts Sevilla’s tally to four points and gives them the top spot in Group E, where Liverpool drew 1-1 with Spartak Moscow in Tuesday’s other contest.
Liverpool fell behind 0-1 in Moscow when Fernando converted a penalty in the 23rd minute. Philippe Coutinho equalised for Liverpool eight minutes later, but the visitors were denied a second goal.
Tuesday’s results leave Spartak and Liverpool with 2 points each, while Maribor has a single point.
In Group G, Besiktas remained perfect, besting RB Leipzig 2-0 in Istanbul to push their points total to six. Ryan Babel and Anderson Talisco scored for the hosts.
Three points back sit Porto, who stunned AS Monaco 3-0 at home with a brace from Vincent Aboubakar and a single strike by Miguel Layun.
RB Leipzig and AS Monaco -- a semi-finalist last season -- have a point apiece and the German club enjoys a slight advantage on goal difference.
