(MENAFN- Arab Times) MADRID Nov 5 (Agencies): A goal by Karim Benzema gave Real Madrid a 1-0 win against an under-strength Liverpool side in the Champions League on Tuesday as Cristiano Ronaldo was held scoreless for the first time in 13 games. Madrid piled the pressure on from the start and Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet made an athletic save from James Rodriguez's shot in the fourth minute. But Benzema broke the deadlock when he lunged forward to connect with a precise pass by Marcelo in the 27th minute.
Ronaldo failed to equal Raul Gonzalez's Champions League scoring record of 71 goals as he was denied several times by Mignolet including on two free kicks. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers made a surprising decision to leave Steven Gerrard Mario Balotelli and five other usual starters on the bench apparently prioritizing a weekend Premier League game against Chelsea. Gerrard and Sterling came on as substitutes in the second half but Liverpool never looked likely to equalize as Madrid controlled the game throughout. Still it was at least a respectable scoreline against a team that won 3-0 at Anfield last month and won its 12th straight game in all competitions. It had outscored opponents 46-7 in the previous 11 games with Ronaldo having scored in 12 straight appearances. Rodgers said he had picked the players he thought would give the team the best chance to get a win and highlighted the fact they had kept Ronaldo from scoring. Mignolet was kept busy and denied Ronaldo for the first time in the sixth minute after defender Martin Skrtel slipped and Benzema sent the ball to the Portugal winger. The goalkeeper stopped Ronaldo again in the 35th punching wide a free kick that had slipped through the defensive wall. Ronaldo missed another chance when he mistimed his run onto a lofted ball and Mignolet collected the ball easily. Liverpool missed a chance to draw level when its players crowded the area but Fabio Borini hesitated and defender Raphael Varane was able to kick the ball clear. Dortmund 4 Galatasaray In Dortmund Despite being down in the relegation zone in the Bundesliga Borussia Dortmund is perfect in the Champions League and has advanced to the knockout stage with two matches to spare. Ciro Immobile scored three minutes after coming on as a substitute to help Dortmund to a 4-1 victory over Galatasaray on Tuesday its fourth straight win the tournament. Marco Reus put Dortmund ahead in the 39th and defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos doubled the lead in the 56th. Hakan Balta pulled one back for Galatasaray in the 70th the first goal Dortmund has conceded in the group stage. But Immobile then scored his third Champions League goal in the 74th before Semih Kaya deflected a shot by Immobile into his own net in 85th. Galatasaray fans set off firecrackers smoke bombs and flares briefly interrupting the match twice. Some flares landed in the section of Dortmund fans and the match was close to being abandoned. There were disturbances after the final whistle too. One Galatasaray fan ran onto the field but was hugged by Dortmund's Ilkay Gundogan himself of Turkish roots and escorted off the pitch. Gundogan gave the fan his shirt. Atletico 2 Malmo 0 In Malmo Atletico Madrid's Koke and Raul Garcia secured a 2-0 victory at Malmo for the Group A leaders in their Champions League clash on Tuesday after the Swedes spurned several excellent chances. Having soaked up considerable pressure Koke broke the deadlock for last season's runners-up on the half-hour sweeping Juanfran's low cross from the right into the net with the inside of his heel after a swift counter-attack. Raul Garcia killed the game in the 78th minute firing home Filip Helander's botched clearance. 'Obviously it's important to play nice football but what makes me proud is when we win' he told reporters. 'That is what I want to give the fans the team the supporters - victories.' Atletico lead the standings with nine points from four games followed by Olympiakos Piraeus and Juventus on six points after the Italians beat the visiting Greek side 3-2 on Tuesday. Malmo's defeat leaves them bottom with three points. Having demolished the Swedes 5-0 at the Vicente Calderon Simeone's Atletico side added their first away win in this season's competition by hitting Malmo on the counter attack. Benfica 1 Monaco 0 In Lisbon Benfica edged Monaco 1-0 with a late goal from the in-form Talisca at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday to boost their hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stage. The highly rated 20-year-old Brazilian attacking midfielder poked home his ninth goal of the season in all competitions in the 82nd minute as Benfica got their first win of the campaign. The Portuguese side remain bottom of Group C on four points level with Zenit St Petersburg who earlier lost 2-1 at home to group leaders Bayer Leverkusen. The Germans have nine points ahead of Monaco who stay in second place on five. Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim had urged his goal-shy side who had scored once in their previous three group games to improve in attack but for large periods of the opening half they were forced to defend against a desperate Benfica side. Basel 4 Ludogorets 0 In Basel Basel routed Ludogorets Razgrad 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday to go second in Group B behind runaway leader Real Madrid. The Swiss champion's win was sparked by 17-year-old forward Breel Embolo scoring his first Champions League goal in the 34th minute. Cameroon-born Embolo was set up by Fabian Frei's lofted pass and the Basel captain created a similar chance for Derlis Gonzalez to score in the 41st. Shkelzen Gashi connected with Embolo's pass across the goalmouth in the 58th and defender Marek Suchy scored after a corner in the 65th. Basel's win continued the group pattern where Madrid has won all its matches and the other three teams have won at home against each other. Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 to advance to the round of 16 with two rounds left. The defending champion has 12 points six clear of Basel. Liverpool and Ludogorets each has three points. Basel which opened with a 5-1 loss in Madrid hosts the defending champion next on Nov. 26. On that date Ludogorets hosts Liverpool. The Swiss side needed three points here after conceding a stoppage-time goal in Ludogorets' 1-0 win in Sofia two weeks ago. Basel took control after its goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik saved well from Dani Abolo and Mihail Aleksandrov in a three-minute spell midway through the first half. In between those chances Basel's Egypt midfielder Mohamed Elneny just missed the target with a right-footed shot across goal.
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