SCHALKE 04 1-6 REAL MADRID ; Ronaldo,Bale and Benzema get 2 each,as Real destroy Schalke in Germany

SCHALKE 04 1-6 REAL MADRID ; Ronaldo,Bale and Benzema get 2 each,as Real destroy Schalke in Germany

Gareth Bale put in his best performance for Real Madrid, said manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored twice each as rampant Real Madrid ripped Schalke apart in the first leg of the last-16 Champions League tie.

Benzema and Bale quickly put Real in control as the La Liga side raced into a 2-0 lead at the Stadion Gelsenkirchen and Ronaldo also hit the post before the break.

Ronaldo increased the lead with his 10th goal of the competition before setting up Benzema for the fourth with a delightful flick five minutes later.

Bale added the fifth and Ronaldo rounded off the rout before Klaas-Jan Huntelaar pulled one back in stoppage time as Schalke slumped to their heaviest defeat in European competition.

"We made too many simple mistakes," the Schalke coach, Jens Keller, said, his tie undone and his hair flopping to one side. "We should have equalised but it was just mistake after mistake.

"We were brave for the first 12 minutes, then they scored and then they got a second goal after a huge mistake by us. I have a young team who wanted to go forward but we should have been tighter."

Schalke, backed by a fervent crowd, began brightly and nearly went ahead went Benedikt Höwedes headed wide from 12 metres in the first minute.

Real quickly showed their class as Benzema fired home after Ronaldo's attempted backheel slipped through Felipe Santana's legs.

Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring. Photograph: Dennis Grombkowski/Bongarts/Getty Images

Schalke's Julian Draxler was denied at point blank-range by Iker Casillas but the Bundesliga team's hopes were effectively killed off after another Santana mishap set up Bale, who squeezed between two defenders to score the second.

Ronaldo hit the inside of the post and saw another shot blocked by Ralf Fährmann before the break as Schalke lost their shape. The Portuguese, clearly frustrated by those misses, got on the scoresheet when he slipped past Joël Matip on the outside and fired past Fährmann.

Schalke were by now in tatters and offered little resistance as Benzema combined with Ronaldo to add the fourth and Sergio Ramos sent Bale clear for the fifth.

An utterly embarrassing evening for the hosts was completed with Ronaldo's second, when he ran on to Benzema's through-ball and rounded the keeper to score as Real equalled their best away result in the Champions League.

Huntelaar's consolation goal hardly makes the task facing Schalke just to save face at the Bernabéu any easier.

"I'm satisfied with everything because that was the perfect game," said the Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti. "My players played with togetherness and they played well. Everything came off for us."