Malmo FF 0-2 Real Madrid: Highlights and 5 Talking Points

Cristiano Ronaldo is now level with Raul as Real Madrids all-time top goalscorerCristiano Ronaldo drew level with Raul atop the most prolific scorers in the history of Real Madrid as the Portuguese ace struck a brace to bail his side out in a 2-0 win in Malmo. After an uncharacteristic 3-game goal drought, Ronaldo got back on the scoresheet with a cheeky right-footed effort just before the half-hour markand sealed the tie in the penultimate minute with a close range finish.Having been held to a frustrating 0-0 stalemate at home by Malaga at the weekend, Los Blancos bounced back to winning ways with another comfortable victory in the group stage.Here are the five talking points from the game.

#1 Ronaldo just a whisker away from history

After drawing a blank on three successive occasions, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo finally pulled goals for himself as he struck a brace to equalise the club’s all-time record of 323 goals held by Raul. And all he needs is just one more to be outrightly hailed as the most prolific in the history of the club, which can be clinched in the upcoming derby against Atletico Madrid, albeit in enemy territory.

Right from the time the Portuguese has stepped into the Iberian Peninsula after his then world record move of £80 million, records have kept tumbling at a barely believable rate. The former Manchester United star has been worth every penny and this game was just another watershed moment for the magnificent No.7.

Ronaldo collected a through ball from Isco and charged towards the goal, unleashing a ferocious drive for his 500th career goal for club and country. He then doubled his tally for the evening when he latched on to a cross from Dennis Cheryshev to take Real Madrid to the top of the group ahead of PSG.

Amongst all the records that he has made or broken all this while, this one holds a special significance and he can live his long cherished dream on Sunday when they travel a few miles across the city to take on Atletico.

#2 A case for the defence

After eight games into the season, Real Madrid remain unbeaten in all competitions and are one of the only five teams across the top five leagues in Europe to hold the distinction. However, one of the most glaring things about this team under Rafael Benitez is their sturdy defence that has leaked in a mere one goal in 8 competitive games so far.

The Madrid-born coach has brought back a sense of stinginess into the Blancos backline that has been otherwise porous in seasons past. With the star-studded attacking lineup delivering up front, Benitez seems to have focused on resurrecting the rearguard. And suffice to say, he has done a laudable job thus far.

Keylor Navas has been just as exceptional in between the sticks, dispatching one dogged performance after another. And the defending quartet ahead of him have shown great vigilance and are not prone to errors. In this game, even without the regular defending troika of Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Marcelo, the visitors appeared rigid at the back and kept out the hosts for to a large extent.

The derby clash with Atletico Madrid will prove to be a real test for the defence. But to go by th performance we’ve seen from them till now, the results are overwhelming.

#3 Benitez plays smart

With one eye on the daunting Madrid derby this weekend, manager Rafael Benitez opted to be a bit cautious in his approach, resting some of his star players for the clash and still eking out a positive result.

He dropped the buccaneering full-back Marcelo to the bench and played Alvaro Arbeloa for the entirety of the game. The Spaniard did not disappoint in his first start of the season and put in a decent shift both offensively and defensively.

Moving to the centre of the park, Casemiro was handed a rare start ahead of Luka Modric with the dynamic Croat coming on with only half an hour remaining.Further up the park, Mateo Kovacic started as the right-winger in place of the substitute Jese, and Benzema was given a decent 60 minutes of playing time.

Clearly, the former Chelsea and Liverpool gaffer was on his guard and threw out a different looking Real Madrid but managed to get his job done without stressing any of his marquee players. One must say, Benitez played the whip-smart here.

#4 A foolhardy Yotun puts Malmo in more trouble

The home side were slowly crawling their way back into the game in the second half when they created a handful of chances and were gradually gaining momentum. A spirited Malmo side were just then pegged back when their Peruvian midfielder Yoshimar Yatun clumsily plunged into a needless tackle that felled substitute Lukas Vazquez, leaving the referee with no option but to brandish his second yellow card for the evening and give him his marching orders.

That was a moment of madness from the 25-year-old, and that left his side deeper in the lurch as the visitors predictably played the opportunist when they tried to make the most of the one-man advantage, pressing high up the park and were finally rewarded with their second goal right before the end of normal time.

All of Malmo’s confidence in the second half were diminished the moment they went a man down and Real Madrid were quick to pounce on the opportunity. Now with a trip to Shakhtar on matchday 3 and a Europa League berth on the line, Yatun’s suspension means the Scandinavian sude will have to make do without one of their key players in the squad.

#5 Malmo are still no pushovers

Having been pitted against the riches of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, progress to the second round was never on the offing for the Sky Blues. However, the Europa League place that was up for the grabs was the least they would have targetted. But even that wasn’t going to be plain-sailing for them considering the experience of Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europe’s top tier.

Malmo thereby were the minnows of the group, but seem to have made a point of not going down so easily as expected. After two rounds of fixtures, both against the European behemoths, the Swedish outfit have conceded only four goals, a decent tally considering the attacking riches that both those sides possess. And they had their fair share of moments in those games.

They never threw in the towel despite knowing the vast chasm between them and the likes of PSG and Real Madrid, making them work their socks off in gaining a sniff at goal. Their resolve is their biggest weapon at the moment and will be useful on matchdays 3 and 4 when they are up against Shakhtar to wrestle away the Europa League berth, before the big two come calling again.