Galatasaray 1-6 Real Madrid September 17, 2013

Galatasaray 1-6 Real Madrid: Ronaldo hat-trick torpedoes Turks

Galatasaray
  84′ Umut Bulut

Real Madrid
  Isco 33′
  Karim Benzema 54′
  C. Ronaldo 63′
  C. Ronaldo 66′
  Karim Benzema 81′
  C. Ronaldo 90+1′

The Portuguese celebrated signing a new contract with a supreme performance while goals from Karim Benzema and Isco capped off the Blancos' evening

Real Madrid will begin their Champions League campaign against a familiar foe on Tuesday night, when Carlo Ancelotti's side take on Galatasaray in Istanbul.

Galatasary beat Madrid 3-2 last April in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash, but the Spanish giants still prevailed 5-2 on aggregate.

Real Madrid and Galatasaray will kick-off their European campaign this Tuesday (20:45 CET) at Istanbul. Last season, both clubs met in the Champions League Quarterfinals and José Mourinho and his men managed to get a ticket to the Semifinals after winning 3-0 at the Bernabéu and losing 3-2 at Ali Sami Yen with a crowd that never gave up.

Galatasaray will get a chance to avenge their Champions League loss in last year's quarterfinal to Real Madrid when the two meet in a Champions League group game on Tuesday.

Last year, Galatasaray beat Real Madrid in Turkey in the second leg of their battle, 3-2. However, Madrid took the aggregate 5-3.

This Real Madrid will look quite a bit different. For starters, Jose Mourinho has moved on to Chelsea and has been replaced at the helm by Carlo Ancelotti. 

Ancelotti had a productive summer with Real Madrid, and Isco, Asier Illarramendi and Gareth Bale have all since come to call Madrid home. 

Real Madrid have not been playing well in these first matches. After Isco and Modric allowed the team to win the first nine points in La Liga, Villarreal put Real Madrid in trouble and managed to get a 2-2 draw with an unforgettable performance by Diego López, who saved his team numerous times.

López will not be Real Madrid's goalkeeper against Galatasaray, as Carlo Ancelotti confirmed in the pre-match press conference. Real's captain Iker Casillas will get a chance to prove himself as a better goalkeeper than Diego López, but Casillas will have a hard time trying to match Diego's performance against Villarreal.

Carlo Ancelotti might also have Álvaro Arbeloa available if the Spanish defender feels ready enough. Nacho Fernández was the team's left back at El Madrigal and he struggled quite a lot, so it could be smart to play Arbeloa in that position, since he's a far more experienced player than Nacho. Arbeloa's natural position on Real Madrid's right back would then be kept by Dani Carvajal, who assisted Gareth Bale for Real's first goal against Villarreal.

In the Turkish Super League, Gala have failed to win any of their last three league games, but Didier Drogba did get his first goal of the campaign last Friday as Fatih Terim's side drew 1-1 against Antalyaspor.

Madrid have included Gareth Bale in their squad for the Group B opener following his scoring debut in a 2-2 draw at Villareal in La Liga last weekend, but the Welshman is a doubt to start on Tuesday as he bids for full fitness.

Galatasaray: Muslera, Eboue, Chedjou, Nounkeu, Riera, Felipe Melo, Inan, Amrabat, Sniejder, Yilmaz, Drogba

Real Madrid: Lopez, Carvajal, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Khedira, Modric, Isco, Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema

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