/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29218067/475062395.0.jpg)
The 'BBC' has created a new channel. It is called 'BBC Two'. Twice the goals.
Some fans worried about Carvajal starting on Real's right back. But the truth is Schalke 04 never troubled him or the whole Real Madrid's defensive line throughout the whole match. Ángel Di María has earned the right to be a starter in this team, and so has Karim Benzema, who completed a performance that should stay in the fans' memories for quite some time.
The French striker single-handedly ended Schalke's hopes when he scored Real Madrid's first goal and assisted Gareth Bale for the second one after recovering the ball from Felipe Santana. Benzema is the perfect striker to complement Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo's game and Real Madrid should not go after any other striker this summer. It doesn't matter how many goals Suárez, Ibrahimovic or Agüero score. They will never have Benzema's ability to combine with such space-demanding players like Ronaldo and Bale.
The game itself wasn't that special. Real Madrid found a way to end the first half up 0-2 and scored four more goals before Huntelaar's screamer on the 90th minute. Di María was playing so well that he was finishing Schalke's counterattacking chances and also creating dangerous opportunities for his teammates. The Argentinian player might not be a pure midfielder, but he's definitely a good asset for Ancelotti in that position. The perfect fit to keep playing this 4-3-3 formation with Khedira injured.
Ramos and Pepe kept playing brilliantly and one can only hope that they keep this streak going one more game since Real Madrid will be visiting the Vicente Calderón next Sunday. Still, Marcelo and Xabi Alonso were arguably Real Madrid's weakest players. The Brazilian defender required some help to contain Jefferson Farfán and Alonso's importance with the ball is still quite low this season. Yes, the team probably play better with him on the pitch because of his defensive positioning, but he needs to do more in order to help Luka Modric dictating the tempo of the game.
Iker Casillas couldn't keep his clean-sheet record alive even though he did brilliantly save a potential Schalke 04 equalizer when the game was still 0-1. Both him and Diego López are playing great -López is in fact a potential Zamora winner this Liga BBVA season-, and those are good news for Real Madrid, controversy aside.
To win by such a great margin is great for Ancelotti as he will be able to make some rotations for the second leg. FC Barcelona will be visiting the Santiago Bernabéu four days after that match in what could be a decisive game for the Liga BBVA title. That way, players like Isco, Illarramendi, Varane, Coentrao, Jesé, Morata and Casemiro could be really useful to rest the starters.
The team played great and bought their ticket to the Champions League Quarterfinals in great fashion. And they ended the German curse too.