CRISTIANO RONALDO SCORED his 71st Champions League goal as Real Madrid did Liverpool a big favour by beating Basel 1-0 in Switzerland.
The Portuguese superstar converted a Karim Benzema cutback 10 minutes before half-time at the St Jakob-Park as the reigning European champions, who had already qualified for the last 16, secured first place in Group B with a fifth win in five games.
Ronaldo’s goal allowed him to move level with former Madrid striker Raul as the tournament’s second-top scorer of all time, three behind Lionel Messi, who broke the record with a hat-trick for Barcelona against APOEL on Tuesday.
And the goal secured their 15th consecutive victory in all competitions, a sequence that began with a 5-1 defeat of Basel at the Santiago Bernabeu in September.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have therefore equalled the record that was set by Miguel Munoz’s team in 1960-61 and then matched three seasons ago under Jose Mourinho.
Meanwhile their Spanish capital counterparts, Atletico Madrid, qualified for the last 16 thanks to a 4-0 home win over Olympiakos that saw Mario Mandzukic net a hat-trick.
They now need only a point away to Juventus in their final Group A match to secure top spot.
The Italians are on the brink of the knockout stages themselves after a 2-0 win over Malmo in Sweden.
Goals from Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez mean that The Old Lady also only need a last day point to see them qualify.
Meanwhile, in Group C, Bayer Leverkusen suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Monaco but Zenit St Petersburg’s 1-0 win over Benfica earlier in the day ensured the Germans will take one of the top two places in Group C.
Finally, Anderlecht comfortably overcame Galatasaray at home to secure their place in the Europa League as Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund have already qualified from Group D.
