Madrid runs riot to ease into knockout phase
Rodrgyo and VinicDefending UEFA Champions League champion Real Madrid hammered Salzburg 5-1 to secure a top-24 finish in the competition's first phase.
Madrid maintains minute hopes of climbing into the top eight and booking a Round of 16 place, but will more realistically be relieved to be sure of a knockout berth after back-to-back defeats earlier in the campaign left it at risk.
It was never in danger in this match as a superb first-half brace from Rodrygo put the European champion in complete control.
Kylian Mbappe took advantage of a blunder from Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich to extend the lead further after half-time, before Vinicius Junior grabbed his own delightful double to round out the scoring for the home side.
Vinicius's first goal was his 100th for Madrid in all competitions and helped ensure its matchday eight meeting with Brest will see the LaLiga giant aiming to climb the table rather than looking nervously over its shoulder.
The only blight on a fine evening for Madrid was Mads Bidstrup's late riposte for Salzburg.
But boss Carlo Ancelotti was delighted with the form at least of his attackers after the match.
"We have fulfilled our objective. Winning and trying to play a good game. A bit soft in the beginning, but then we fixed that and played really well," Ancelotti said.
"Obviously, there is no doubt about the quality of our players up front. We are trying to fix the rest. Because the efficiency we have up top is unbelievable. We have to fix the other issues we have at the back.
"Sometimes we do well and sometimes we do less well, but we're on a good run. I'm not angry about conceding a goal, we did well at the back today.
"[Antonio] Rudiger was very good today, [David] Alaba is finally back, [Raul] Asencio is good... It's a collective problem we have. That's the key this year. If we can have collective commitment, we will be successful, and we will be able to take full advantage of the quality we have up front."
Ancelotti lamented the slow start Madrid made to its UEFA Champions League title defence after it lost three of its first five matches, which left it facing a difficult task to secure a top-eight finish and earn direct qualification for the Round of 16.
"You never know what could happen ... Only one thing is clear: we have to win the last game and that's nothing new at this club. We have to win all the games if you are at Real Madrid," Ancelotti said.
