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Real Madrid's Dutch forward Ruud van Nistelrooy (R), fights for the ball with Bate Borisov's Aleksandr Yurevich, during their Group H Champions League soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, central Spain, 17 September 2008. |
Goals from Sergio Ramos and Ruud Van Nistelrooy gave Real Madrid a safe if unspectacular win in their first Champions League game of the season on Wednesday night.
Playing Belarusian side Bate Borisov, the team with the lowest UEFA ranking in the competition, Real opened the scoring after 10 minutes when defender Sergio Ramos surged forward to receive a pass from Guti.
That goal had the fans in Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium expecting more to follow. That was not how it turned out.
The home side appeared to lose their grip on the game against a side that was clearly inferior and what followed were 35 minutes of tepid football, with the Madrid players seemingly incapable of upping the pace.
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Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid celebrates his opening goal during the UEFA Champions League Group H match between Real Madrid and BATE Borisov at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on September 17, 2008 in Madrid, Spain. |
It was a general relief when the half time whistle came and 10 minutes into the second half Ruud Van Nistelrooy at least made the win safe when he slid the ball home from close range after Real captain Raul Gonzalez was unable to finish a smart pass from Diarra.
Once again hopes were raised in the Bernabeu that Real would go on to dominate the encounter. But that was not to be as the side coached by Bernd Schuster sat back, clearly thinking of their weekend game away to Racing Santander.
Real Madrid's next Champions League game is in two weeks when they travel to play Zenit St Petersburg. After the Russian side lost 1-0 to Juventus on Wednesday night, that could turn out to be the key game in the group stage as a win would give Real a clear advantage to qualify for the last 16.
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2008)
