Ronaldo at the double as Real Madrid start with a bang

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-16 13:55

LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice on his Champions League debut for Real Madrid to help the nine-times European champions overcome a bout of first-night nerves and win 5-2 at FC Zurich on Tuesday.

Ronaldo at the double as Real Madrid start with a bang

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring during their Champions League soccer match against FC Zurich (FCZ) at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich September 15, 2009.[Agencies]

Zurich were 3-0 down at halftime but pulled two goals back to make a real game of it before Ronaldo's second free kick of the night settled the Spaniards.

Real's Group C tussle was the pick of the night's games as European football's elite club competition made what was otherwise a rather damp return.

Manchester United, who lost to Barcelona in last season's final, squeezed out a 1-0 win at Besiktas in Group B with a Paul Scholes header and Juventus were held 1-1 at home to Girondins Bordeaux in Group A.

A goal from striker Nicolas Anelka, beautifully taken after his first effort was beaten away, gave Chelsea a 1-0 home win over Porto in Group D while two goals from Filippo Inzaghi kept AC Milan on Real's heels with a 2-1 win at Olympique Marseille.

Bayern Munich took control in Group A with a 3-0 win at Maccabi Haifa, while VfL Wolfsburg, the team who pipped them to the Bundesliga title last season, had a Grafite hat-trick to thank for a 3-1 home win over CSKA Moscow in Group B.

APOEL Nicosia, like Wolfsburg and Zurich playing their first match in the Champions League, had an encouraging goalless draw at Atletico Madrid in Group D.

ZURICH CLASSIC

Milan's game at Marseille was a repeat of the first final of the Champions League era in 1993 but this was not to be a night of classic drama -- apart from in Zurich, that is.

Ronaldo became the world's most expensive player when he moved to Real from Manchester United for 80 million pounds ($133.2 million) in the close season and he smacked in a free kick from outside the area to put the Spanish side ahead midway through the first half.

Ronaldo's first free kick was followed by a Raul tap-in and a goal from Gonzalo Higuain as Real went 3-0 up in a devastating 18-minute spell.

Zurich recovered with a penalty from Xavier Margairaz and a header from Silvan Aegerter within the space of a minute before Ronaldo scored with a long-range effort and Guti rounded things off for Real, who will host this season's final at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium.