Real Madrid begin Champions League title defence in style

Real Madrid begain their Champions League campaign with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Basel

Paris, Sep 17 (IANS) Spanish football club Real Madrid started their Champions League title defence with a comfortable 5-1 win over Swiss club Basel while Atletico Madrid slipped to a surprise 2-3 defeat to Olympiakos.

Real Madrid's big victory Tuesday night lifted the confidence of coach Carlo Ancelotti and the fans after they lost two out of their first three matches in their domestic campaign, reports Xinhua.

The five goals of Real Madrid came from Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and a Basel own-goal. The start of the match was relatively even but things started to go wrong for Basel when Suchy was unlucky to deflect a cross from Nacho Gonzalez, in the side replacing Alvaro Arbeloa, past his own keeper. Real Madrid got three goals in seven minutes after the 30th minute which ensured an easy victory for Ancelotti's team.

In the game between Olympiakos and Atletico Madrid, guests Atletico fell behind in the 13th minute when defender Arthur Masuaku's left-footed drive beat debutant goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Ibrahim Afellay scored Olympiakos' second goal in the 31st minute, only for Mario Mandzukic to pull a goal back for Atletico in the 38th. Mitroglou extended Olympiakos' lead to 3-1 in the 73rd minute before Antoine Griezmann reduced the margin on 86 minutes for Atletico.

In another Group A game, Juventus beat Malmo 2-0 courtesy Carlos Tevez's brace. In Group B, Liverpool returned to Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Ludogotets Razgrad. In Group C, Zenit stunned Benfica 2-0 and Monaco beat Leverkusen 1-0 while group D matches saw Dortmund beat Arsenal 2-0 while Galatasaray and Anderlecht settled for a 1-1 draw.