Karim Benzema came off the bench to score 13 minutes from time and ruin any chance of a dream result for resilient Ludogorets as holders Real Madrid carved out a patchy 2-1 win in Wednesday's Champions League Group B match.
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Lively Brazilian midfielder Marcelinho had fired Ludogorets, the Bulgarian club making their home debut in the group stages, into an early lead, prompting the fantasy at the Vasil Levski stadium in Sofia that a footballing fairytale could be in the air.
After eight minutes, Marcelinho had headed home from close range after Sergio Ramos failed to clear Fabio Espinho's corner, and the home side's belief grew even stronger when two minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo had a penalty saved by Vladislav Stoyanov.
The dream did not last long, though. Ronaldo made no mistake when handed another chance to score from the spot 15 minutes later, netting his 69th Champions League goal -- two behind record holder Raul.
'Cristiano has had a knock'
Ronaldo was left limping in the final minutes and looked to be in some discomfort after receiving a knock in his left leg following a challenge by Ludogorets midfielder Abel Anicet though coach Carlo Ancelotti said his injury was not serious.
"Cristiano has had a knock," Ancelotti told reporters after the game at the Vasil Levski national stadium. "It's painful but nothing serious."
Real moved on to six points from two games when Benzema finished off a precise left-wing cross by Marcelo.
The hosts, though, gave a fine account of themselves in front of 40,000 vociferous fans.
Ludogorets, who had produced a classy and confident performance at Liverpool two weeks earlier, losing 2-1 after conceding a stoppage-time penalty, came close to scoring on several occasions although Stoyanov was also required to make some good saves after the interval.
Ancelotti left Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez and Benzema on the bench with Isco, Asier Illaramendi and Javier Hernandez replacing them in the starting line-up.
The visitors struggled to build any momentum despite dominating possession with Gareth Bale and Hernandez missing good scoring opportunities.
After Marcelinho's opener, Hernandez almost got Real back into the game instantly by drawing a penalty on left back Yordan Minev but Stoyanov, who returned after serving a one-match ban, produced a stunning save from Ronaldo.
The Portuguese striker, however, was able to get his revenge less than quarter of an hour later, scoring the second penalty awarded for a foul on him by Cosmin Moti.
Ronaldo, who has been scoring for fun in recent weeks, also saw an effort cleared off the line and a goal disallowed for offside.
Ludogorets refused to surrender following Ronaldo's equaliser and looked set to take a point from an end-to-end contest.
Basel stun sloppy Liverpool to claim another English scalp
Swiss champions FC Basel claimed another English Premier League scalp when they took advantage of a sloppy and lethargic Liverpool to win 1-0 with a Marco Streller goal in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The raw talent of Basel youngsters Ahmed Hamoudi, Derlis Gonzalez and Breel Embolo, combined with the experience of the wily Streller and a fervent 36,000 crowd, was too much for Liverpool, who were toothless in attack and shoddy at the back.
Streller's 52nd minute goal came after Liverpool completely failed to deal with a corner and, although goalkeeper Simon Mignolet managed to save the ball, Streller was on hand to turn in the rebound.
Basel, who bounced back from a 5-1 mauling by Real Madrid in their opening game, have previously beaten Chelsea and Manchester United in the Champions League in the last four seasons and knocked Tottenham Hotspur out of the Europa League.
They also qualified from the Champions League group stage at Liverpool’s expense back in 2002/03.
Liverpool, who began Group B with a home win over Ludogorets Razgrad, gave Basel goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik very little to do and Raheem Sterling fluffed their best chance in the 75th minute when Adam Lallana sent him clear but he miscontrolled the ball and was dispossessed.
Basel even had to overcome an early injury blow when left back Behrang Safari went off injured after only 10 minutes.
But their Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa confidently re-shuffled his side, switching from a back four to a back three and bringing on Gonzalez to play wide on the right of midfield where he caused Liverpool all sorts of problems.
Steven Gerrard summed up Liverpool's evening when he wasted two early set pieces with poor delivery and the skulking Mario Balotelli was ineffective in attack, apart from a thundering 30-metre free kick which bounced off Vaclik’s chest and fell to Lazar Markovic, whose shot was deflected away..
Atletico talisman Arda sinks Juventus
Bearded talisman Arda Turan reignited Atletico Madrid's Champions League campaign when he struck 15 minutes from time to give last season’s beaten finalists a 1-0 win at home to Juventus in Group A on Wednesday.
Beaten 3-2 at Olympiakos Piraeus in their opening game two weeks ago, Atletico hassled and harried the Italian champions at the Calderon and were rewarded in the 75th minute when Turkey midfielder Arda poked the ball into the net from close range.
The stocky playmaker, who scored a superb winner in this month's 2-1 La Liga win at European champions Real Madrid, settled an intense encounter in the Spanish capital in which neither side created many clear chances.
It was the first time the Juventus defence has been breached this season and the first goal their Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has conceded since Atletico's Uruguay defender Diego Godin beat him at the World Cup finals in Brazil in June.
The victory puts Atletico firmly back on track to qualify from a group that also includes Malmo. The Swedish side won 2-0 at home to Olympiakos to leave all four teams on three points from two matches.
Substitute Adrian Ramos scored twice as a weakened Borussia Dortmund beat Belgian champions Anderlecht 3-0 on Wednesday to stay top of Champions League Group D.
Dortmund arrived in Brussels missing a number of players through injury, notably Germany midfielder Marco Reus, and with a single point from their last three Bundesliga matches, but made a flying start.
Their opener came after three minutes, when Shinji Kagawa scooped the ball over the top of the home defence for Ciro Immobile to beat advancing keeper Silvio Proto.
Ramos double drives Dortmund to 3-0 win over Anderlecht
Substitute Ramos stabbed in the second in the 69th minute, just four minutes after coming on, after a sublime cross from Lukasz Piszczek.
Ramos made it 3-0 10 minutes later when he danced past helpless Anderlecht defenders to slam just inside the far right post.
Anderlecht did have chances, notably when attacking midfielder Dennis Praet had the ball in the net in the ninth minute, only for Aleksandar Mitrovic, who fed the final pass, to be adjudged offside. Television replays showed he was in line with the last defender.
Mitrovic also struck the Dortmund post in the second half.
The home side, however, struggled to make their possession count against a tight Dortmund defence with the midfield pair of Sebastian Kehl and Sven Bender just in front of them.
Dortmund top group D on six points from two matches, ahead of Arsenal on three.
The defeat took Anderlecht's run without a victory in the Champions League to 10 matches, dating back to November 2012.
Rosenberg double gives Malmo 2-0 win over Olympiakos
Markus Rosenberg's double sparked jubilant scenes at the Swedbank Stadium as Malmo beat Olympiakos Piraeus 2-0 in the first Champions League group stage match to be played on Swedish soil in 14 years.
On a wonderful night for the Scandinavian underdogs in the Group A clash, Rosenberg initiated the celebrations by putting the home side ahead in the 42nd minute, punishing a defensive mix-up by snapping up the loose ball and coolly slotting it into the net.
Isaac Thelin could have doubled Malmo's advantage on the hour mark but he headed his close-range effort straight at the keeper before slicing the rebound horribly.
Rosenberg, though, made no mistake, striking again in the 82nd minute, firing into the top right corner after more poor goalkeeping by Roberto for the Greeks.
The best chance for Olympiakos came in the second half through former Malmo winger Jimmy Durmaz, whose left-footed shot was spilled by Robin Olsen, but the goalkeeper recovered to smother the ball.
Malmo's victory was the first Champions League group game to be held in Sweden since Helsingborg held Paris St Germain to a 1-1 draw in November 2000.
