Real Madrid’s win over Schalke in the first leg of the UEFA Champion’s League round-of-16 match saw the Los Blancos equal Bayern Munich’s record of 10 successive wins in the competition. Real beat Schalke 2-0 thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo.
Bayern Munich’s record breaking run came to an end in December 2014 after Manchester City came back from behind to defeat the German side. Incidentally, Real’s first win in their run came against Munich as they beat them in the first leg of the semi-finals of the 2013-2014 Champions League campaign.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men will have the opportunity to surpass Bayern’s record when they host Schalke in the return leg on March 10.
The win also saw the creation of yet another record for Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese international has now won more League knockout games in the competition than anyone else. Madrid are also at the top of the La Liga with a one-point lead over rivals Barcelona.
Champions League team | Consecutive wins | Started | Ended |
Real Madrid | 10 | April 2014 | Ongoing |
Bayern Munich | 10 | April 2013 | December 2013 |
Barcelona | 9 | September 2012 | February 2013 |
Borussia Dortmund | 8 | December 1996 | October 1997 |
Barcelona | 7 | September 2011 | March 2012 |
AC Milan | 6 | November 1992 | May 1993 |
Arsenal | 6 | March 2005 | December 2005 |
Inter Milan | 6 | December 2009 | April 2010 |
Paris Saint-Germain | 6 | September 1994 | March 1995 |
Real Madrid | 6 | September 2011 | February 2012 |
Ronaldo’s personal milestones
The match also saw Ballon d’Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo reach several personal milestones, which are as follows:
- Ronaldo’s opener versus Schalke was his 76th Champions League goal, drawing him level with Lionel Messi and Raul as the highest goalscorer in European competitions.
- The goal was Ronaldo’s 58th Champions League goal in as many appearances for the Los Blancos.
- It was also Ronaldo’s 12th consecutive away goal in the tournament.
- The goal and the assist for Marcelo’s goal cemented the Portuguese international’s position at the top of the list for goals scored and assists in the last two editions of the Champions League. Ronaldo has a combined score of 29 while Lionel Messi is a distant second with 18.
- Ronaldo’s headed goal makes him only the sixth player in the history of the competition with 10 or more headed goals. He joins Fernando Morientes, Raul, Filippo Inzaghi, Jardel and Andriy Shevchenko on the list.
- The win takes Ronaldo’s Champions League knockout victories to 28, which surpasses the numbers set by Victor Valdes and Edwin van der Sar.
- The Portugal captain is now also responsible for 72 out of 274 Champions League goals scored by Portuguese players.