Real Madrid ties Juventus on goals by Ronaldo, Bale

Rome, Nov 6 (IANS/EFE) Goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale made up for Real Madrid’s defensive lapses and earned the club a 2-2 draw in Tuesday’s Champions League match with Juventus.

The tie broke the Blancos’ 51-year string of defeats in Turin, Italy, and left the Spanish club all but assured of advancing to the round of 16.

Veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas made two great stops for the visitors in the first half, but Juvie took a 1-0 lead into the break as Arturo Vidal converted a penalty in the 42nd minute after Raphael Varane was yellow-carded for a foul against Paul Pogba.

But the Italian side’s advantage didn’t survive the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Real Madrid took a more aggressive approach that paid off in the 52nd minute when Ronaldo scored his record-tying eighth goal of the group stage.

Seven minutes later, Ronaldo directed the ball to Bale, who buried it in the bottom-right corner of the Juventus net to give the Blancos a 2-1 lead.

Another lapse by Varane shattered Real Madrid’s hope of notching its first triumph in Turin in more than half a century, allowing Fernando Llorente to score on a header in the 65th minute.

With 10 points in four matches, Real Madrid retains a commanding lead in Group B, while Juvie sits in fourth with only 3 points.

Copenhagen beat Galatasaray 1-0 in Tuesday’s other Group B contest, leaving each club with 4 points.

All four teams in Group A went scoreless Tuesday, which saw a pair of 0-0 draws: Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Bayer Leverkusen and Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United.

United leads the group with 8 points, followed by Bayer, with 7 points, and Shakhtar, with 5.

Heavyweight Paris St-Germain had to come from behind to secure a 1-1 tie with humble Anderlecht on Tuesday, but remains on top in Group C with 10 points, three ahead of Olympiacos, which beat Benfica 1-0.

In Group D, Manchester City thumped CSKA Moskva 5-2 and defending Champions League kings Bayern Munich edged hapless Viktoria Plzen 1-0 in the Czech Republic.

Bayern has 12 points out of 12 after four matches, trailed by City with 9.

–IANS/EFE