Real Madrid have made it three wins from three in this season’s Champions League with a narrow win over Shakhtar Donetsk at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The holders’ early dominance was told when Rodrigo opened the scoring before Vinicius Junior extended the lead.
Oleksandr Zubkov gave the Ukrainian visitors hope with a fine header.
However, Shakhtar could not find a leveler as the Spanish giants came close to securing their place in the knockout rounds.
Real Madrid got off to the perfect start when Rodrigo struck from the edge of the box and found the impressive Orléans Chauminy.
Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde and Rodrigo combined well to tie Vinicius Junior for the home side’s second place.
Despite dominating the first half, Carlo Ancelotti’s side only went into the break when Zubkov headed Bogdan Mykhailichenko’s cross past Madrid’s Ukrainian keeper Andriy Lonin, but the visitors were unable to salvage a point.
Shakhtar are second in Group F, a point above RB Leipzig, and face Madrid in Warsaw in the return leg on Tuesday.
