Friday, February 28, 2014

Real Madrid Spanish media round-up: Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo destroy Schalke in Champions League

Spain's sporting publications were full of praise for Real Madrid's BBC combination of (Karim) Benzema, (Gareth) Bale and Cristiano (Ronaldo) on Friday after the trio scored two goals each in the 6-1 Champions League mauling of Schalke.



"There will be some who will try to downplay Real Madrid’s victory by pointing to Schalke’s historical irrelevance. And that wouldn’t be fair," writes Juanma Trueba in AS.

Real Madrid Spanish media round-up: Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo destroy Schalke in Champions League

"Worse teams have hit Madrid where it hurts on their trips to Germany. What’s different is that there is no comparison between this visiting side and those which were made to suffer during the 70s, 80s and 90s. This team isn’t just better, it’s miles better. In every area.

"The physical strength that favoured the Germans now plays in Madrid’s favour; now the giants are the Madridistas. The talent is incomparable, too. And, let’s face it, the resources. And, it also has to be admitted, the game plan.

"For a few years now, Madrid have developed using Cristiano Ronaldo as the model. The aim is for the team to look like him, to run like a cheetah and bite like a tiger."

Writing in Marca, JL Calderon says: "First was a B (Benzema), then the other B (Bale) and then C (Christian). The BBC destroyed Schalke, exhibiting sheer power in front of goal. Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo all bagged doubles, the latter allowing him to overtake Ibrahimovic as the Champions League topscorer with 11 goals against the Swede's 10.

"Ancelotti clung to his luxurious trio in attack to strike a major blow to Germany's footballing authority. The 64 goals scored by Bale, Benzema and Cristiano this season were more than sufficient to guarantee the Italian coach victory after almost a month without being able to start the three forwards together."

Elsewhere, In Mundo Deportivo, Manel Bruna writes: "Gelsenkirchen, finally, saw a festival of white in which Real Madrid laid out their superiority to quash a German team who made good their role as victims in this game. Bale, Benzema and Cristiano combined to show a full repertoire in front of goal. The famous white BBC played, like the rest of their team-mates, the best match of Madrid's season."

Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/real-madrid/10664620/Real-Madrid-Spanish-media-round-up-Bale-Benzema-and-Ronaldo-destroy-Schalke-in-Champions-League.html