Tiraspol, November 25 (BNA): Real Madrid booked a place in the Champions League playoffs with at least one match after beating Moldovan rival Sherif Tiraspol 3-0 in a tight match in the fourth group on Wednesday.
Real leads the group with 12 points from five matches, two points behind second-placed Inter Milan, and the Italian champions also qualified after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0, Reuters reported.
Third-placed Sherif, who stunned Real 2-1 in the reverse game in September, is third with six points and has confirmed his continuation in the European League after the winter break. Shakhtar IV has one point.
Real, who have won a record 13 club league titles, meet at home to Inter in their last group game while Sharif visits Shakhtar on December 7.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti expressed his happiness with the performance and said it was important to top the group.
“It is important and we have to do well against Inter Milan in our last group game at the Bernabeu,” he said. “You can’t ask for more tonight, we had a good game because we were serious from the start.
“We kept our possession well and were dynamic going forward. You always have to improve but the team is effective. We have so many options; counter and positional match and I like the way we play.”
Defender Dani Carvajal added: “Now we qualified and that means achieving the goal. We went through a period where we didn’t keep a clean sheet but now we’re managing it and our goal is to keep that.”
French striker Karim Benzema, who was given a one-year suspended prison sentence earlier on Thursday, scored a goal in the 10th minute for offside as Real laid siege to the hosts.
David Alaba fired the visiting team ahead with a skewed free kick in the 30th minute with a shot from a distance of 22 metres, which stranded Sharif goalkeeper Georgios Athanasiades after hitting Cristiano’s outstretched foot.
Midfielder Toni Kroos doubled Real Madrid’s lead after the first half with a superb shot that hit the underside of the bar after a flowing movement that left the German midfielder time and space to choose his place.
Benzema made it 3-0 with a superb shot from the edge of the penalty area to the bottom corner after left-back Ferland Mendy hit it in the 55th minute, as Real kept the pedal.
The hosts came close to reducing the difference after the hour, as Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved Adama Traore’s low ball and Sebastian Thiel hit the post with a header in the follow-up.
Athanasiades twice frustrated substitute Marco Asensio in the final minutes with a pair of superb saves as Real Madrid comfortably managed to reach the Round of 16 for the 25th consecutive year.