CRISTIANO RONALDO SCORED twice as Real Madrid all but secured their place in the Champions League last 16 with a 2-1 win over Juventus.
The Portuguese had fired the hosts into a fourth minute lead with a tidy finish, but Juventus were level midway through the first-half when Fernando Llorente bundled home from close range.
Ronaldo took his tally to an incredible seven goals in just three Champions League games this season with a penalty five minutes later and Juve’s task became even steeper when Giorgio Chiellini was sent-off just after the interval.
Gareth Bale was then introduced to make his home European debut for Real, but despite failing to make the most of their numerical advantage they held on to make it three wins from three in Group B.
Defeat however leaves the Italian champions in a perilous situation with just two points from three games, now two behind Galatasaray after they beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in the other game in the group on Wednesday.
In Group A Stefan Kiessling — scorer of last week’s infamous ‘phantom goal’ — scored twice for real in Bayer Leverkusen’s 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
The striker’s double and contributions from Simon Rolfes, from the spot, and Sidney Sam lifted Leverkusen up to second , one point behind leaders Manchester United.
Champions League results – Wednesday
Group A
- Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
- Manchester United 1-0 Real Sociedad
Group B
- Real Madrid 2-1 Juventus
- Galatasaray 3-1 FC Copenhagen
Group C
Group D