Real Madrid dispels crisis shadow with Champions League victory

Goals: Benzema 11', Marcelo 56' - Hrosovsky 79'

Real showed their determination to win early on with the opening goal in the 11th minute, when Karim Benzema met and headed in a cross from the right. This was the first goal scored by a Real striker in six consecutive matches.

Despite ending their goal drought, Real's attack did not fully regain the form they had shown in the first month of the season. Their lack of confidence and poor ball control were still evident in a series of missed shots in the first half. Benzema and Isco both wasted at least one chance by shooting wide of the target, instead of passing to a teammate in an open position.

Not only did Real make viewers regret through missed opportunities, they also continued to cause uncertainty in defense. Using Lucas Vazquez as a right-back was the reason why the home team fell into a sweat many times in the first half. If goalkeeper Keylor Navas and the remaining three defenders had not cleared the ball in time, Real could have conceded an early goal after shots from Milan Petrzela, David Limbersky and Hrosovsky.

Unnerved by the way the reigning European champions played, many fans did not hesitate to whistle and boo from the end of the first half. When he had to leave the field to make way for Federico Valverde in the 54th minute, Isco also had to face criticism from the audience.

Real's performance only took a positive turn from the moment they made it 2-0, when Marcelo scored in the 56th minute with a flick over the goalkeeper. Gareth Bale played a big part in the goal when he made a backheel pass for Marcelo to run down and face.

This is the second consecutive match that the Brazilian full-back has scored for Real. Having just recovered from injury, Marcelo has only played two matches again and immediately helped the team relieve some of the pressure during the crisis.

Plzen made an effort to attack in the final minutes of the match and scored a goal. Hrosovsky was the one to shorten the score when he fired a low shot from 17 meters past goalkeeper Navas.

With a 2-1 victory over Plzen, Real can temporarily forget the series of crisis matches when losing 0-3 to Sevilla, drawing 0-0 with Atletico, losing 0-1 to CSKA Moscow, 0-1 to Alaves and 1-2 to Levante. This victory also gives coach Julen Lopetegui more opportunities to prepare for the big match with Barca this weekend.

Real currently lead Group G of the Champions League with six points from three games. Roma also have six points but are second due to inferior goal difference. CSKA are next with four points, while Plzen have just one point.