Rampant Ronaldo rattles double as Real down Juve

Cristiano Ronaldo continued his blistering start to Real Madrid's Champions League campaign when he struck twice in a 2-1 win at home to 10-man Juventus on Tuesday that put Real firmly in charge of Group B.

The Portuguese forward's double took his goal tally in Europe's elite club competition to seven in three appearances this season, his first coming when he rounded Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and finished superbly from a tight angle in the fourth minute at the Bernabeu.

Spain forward Fernando Llorente levelled for the visitors in the 22nd minute before the referee ruled Giorgio Chiellini had impeded Sergio Ramos in the penalty area at a freekick and Ronaldo put away the 29th-minute spot kick.

Italy centre back Chiellini had a night to forget as he was shown a straight red card three minutes into the second half when he checked Ronaldo's run down the right with a flailing arm and Juve hardly threatened Real's goal for the rest of the game.

Real top the group with a perfect nine points with three games to play, with Galatasaray in second on four points after they thumped bottom-placed FC Copenhagen 3-1 in Istanbul.

Juve are third on two points and the Italian champions are in real danger of failing to make the last 16 with their next game at home to Real looming on Nov. 5.

Ronaldo's brace lifted him above former Real and Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy into third on the all-time list of Champions League top scorers with 57 goals, with only Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Raul, another ex-Real forward, ahead of him.

The 28-year-old Ronaldo is only the second player in the history of Europe's elite club competition to hit seven in his team's opening three games after AC Milan's Filippo Inzaghi.

There was no place for record signing Gareth Bale in the Real starting lineup, with coach Carlo Ancelotti opting to deploy Angel Di Maria despite Bale's return to action after injury as a second-half substitute against Malaga at the weekend.

The 100 million-euro ($138 million) Wales winger replaced Karim Benzema with just over 20 minutes left but failed to make much of an impact.

France striker Benzema turned in another disappointing performance, fluffing one chance on the hour when he was right in front of an empty goal, and was roundly whistled by the impatient Real fans.