The reigning European champions sealed maximum points
from their group stage campaign after running out
comfortable winners on Tuesday night
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale struck in the first half to
help give Real Madrid a 4-0 win over Ludogorets and make it
six wins out of six in Champions League Group B.
The defending European champions were guaranteed top spot
but recorded maximum points for the second time in their
history after further goals from Alvaro Arbeloa and Alvaro
Medran sealed victory.
Ludogorets saw Marcelinho sent off midway through the first
half and missed out on the Europa League as they struggled
to contain the quality of the Spanish giants.
Amid early pressure from Real, Ludogorets' slim hopes of
taking anything from the Santiago Bernabeu diminished with
the loss of a man and a goal in quick succession.
Marcelinho – on target in the reverse fixture - handled
Raphael Varane's goalbound header to earn a straight red
card before Ronaldo converted the penalty to move past club
legend Raul to outright second in the competition's record
scorers list with his 72nd Champions League goal.
Bale doubled the advantage late in the first half with a header
from Toni Kroos' corner before Arbeloa added a third 10
minutes from time with his first goal in over a year.
Young midfielder Medran added a touch of gloss to a
straightforward outing with a late strike - his first at senior
level - as Real eased to a 19th straight win in all competitions
- breaking Barcelona's Spanish record for consecutive
victories.
Having fallen behind early in the reverse fixture, Real were on
the front foot from the off with Bale and Javier Hernandez
threatening with headers in the opening stages.
Isco was thwarted by a smart Vladislav Stoyanov save 14
minutes in following Asier Illarramendi's clever ball before
Virgil Misidjan tested Keylor Navas with a curled strike from
the edge of the area.
However, Ludogorets were dealt a double blow 19 minutes in
when Marcelinho was sent off for blocking Varane's header
on the line with his hand.
Ronaldo made the visitors pay with a chipped effort from 12
yards to open the scoring and set Real on their way.
Ludogorets managed to keep Real at bay somewhat after the
opener - displaying the defensive shape that had seen them
lose just once in 11 games prior to Tuesday's clash.
However, the hosts' quality came to the fore again eight
minutes before the break as Bale crashed a header off the
crossbar and past Stoyanov to ease Real into the break two
goals ahead.
Making the most of their numerical advantage, Real continued
to threaten although visiting captain Svetoslav Dyakov went
close before the hour as Navas was forced into an acrobatic
stop.
With Georgi Dermendzhiev's men defending impressively and
Real's victory under no real pressure, chances were at a
premium until the latter stages.
Arbeloa - having already seen a header hit the crossbar -
finished from close range before Medran's deflected strike
looped over Stoyanov to give the 20-year-old his first goal for
the club on his Champions League bow.