JOIN USMerciless Real Madrid pounced on a glut of Schalke 04 mistakes as they romped to another 6-1 away win in the Champions League on Wednesday, their second of the season, leaving the ragged Bundesliga side shattered and embarrassed.
Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice each and Real could quite easily have added to their tally against opponents who started promisingly but completely lost their composure after conceding two goals in a disastrous eight-minute first-half spell. Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar volleyed in from the edge of the area for a stoppage-time consolation for Schalke. In another match, Chelsea and Galatasaray played out a 1-1 draw at Istanbul.
The result, Schalke's heaviest defeat in European football, was the second embarrassment for the Bundesliga following Bayer Leverkusen's 4-0 humbling at home by Paris St Germain last week.
Real, who also won 6-1 at Galatasaray in the group stage, took their tally in the competition to 26 goals in seven games, 11 of them from Ronaldo.
It started promisingly for the hosts when Benedikt Hoewedes headed wide from close range in the first minute. But Real were in front after 13 minutes when Bale was allowed to run unimpeded to the edge of the penalty area where he found Ronaldo, whose backheel slipped through Felipe Santana's legs and fell for Benzema to fire past Ralf Faehrmann.
Santana again lost possession near the touchline to Benzema who flicked the ball to Bale and the Welshman dribbled cleverly between two defenders to score the second in the 21st minute. Ronaldo got on the scoresheet in the 52nd minute when he was left one-on-one with Joel Matip, performed some trademark stepovers and then flew past the defender before firing past Faehrmann.
Five minutes later, a Schalke cross into the visitors' penalty area was cleared and Real were again allowed to pass their way upfield without any resistance.
Predictably, the move ended with another goal as Benzema found Ronaldo who flicked the ball back to the Frenchman to chip past Faehrmann.
Sergio Ramos sent Bale away for the fifth with 21 minutes still to pay after Schalke lost possession in midfield again.
They still failed to learn the lesson and in the 89th minute, Roman Neustaedter lost the ball in his own half and Benzema quickly set up Ronaldo, who held off Matip and rounded Faehrmann for the sixth goal.
Chelsea held
Chelsea kept Didier Drogba well-shackled in his first game against the team he helped to win the Champions League but Aurelien Chedjou's second-half goal earned Galatasaray a 1-1 draw in their last-16 first leg.
The Cameroon defender took advantage of sloppy marking to find space in the box and steer home Wesley Sneijder's inswinging corner on 65 minutes to leave the tie evenly poised.
Fernando Torres had silenced a raucous home crowd when he fired Chelsea into a ninth-minute lead but the Premier League leaders could not press home their first-half dominance and the Turkish side improved markedly after the break.