Which trident finished the Champions League group stages with perfect WhoScored ratings?
There has arguably never been a more dramatic final round of games in the group stages of the Champions League. Arsenal finally put together a European performance packed with guile, patience and creativity to overcome Olympiacos to qualify for the latter stages of the competition, while Manchester United crashed out in farcical circumstances.
Louis van Gaal’s side have struggled for goals this season and while they finally found the back of the net twice, they conceded more goals against Wolfsburg (3) than they had done in their previous 11 outings. It was a night when they could have done with Cristiano Ronaldo.
While United toiled, Ronaldo continued his phenomenal goalscoring record. In fact, his four-goal haul against Malmo took his tally in the group stages to 11 this season, which is a Champions League record.
Since leaving United for Real Madrid in 2009, Ronaldo has scored 73 goals in the Champions League, whereas United have only scored 13 more as a collective (86). Ronaldo wasn’t the only player to get in on Real Madrid’s record equalling 8-0 thrashing over minnows Malmo. The Portugal international had 10 shots on Malmo’s goal and was a threat throughout the match.
Karim Benzema, who is not having the best of times off the field, also netted a hat-trick as they became the first players to score two hat-trick’s in the same game in Champions League history. When you combine Benzema’s form in the league and in Europe, he playing a decisive part in a Madrid goal every 73.3 minutes.
Completing the trio that obtained perfect WhoScored.com ratings was Isco. The Spain international didn’t get on the scoresheet but he did register two assists and completed one more dribble than the whole Malmo team combined (4). Added to that, he only misplaced three of his 55 passes, boasting a staggering 95% pass completion.
Rafa Benitez hasn't endured the best of times as Real Madrid manager, but this performance will certainly give him some breathing space, even if it is only for a few days.
For more stats on Real Madrid’s 8-0 win over Malmo, click here to visit the WhoScored match centre
