Real Madrid beats Legia Warsaw 5-1 in Champions League

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane admitted he had taken risks with his starting lineup after his side’s helter-skelter 5-1 Champions League Group F win at home to group outsiders Legia Warsaw on Tuesday evening.

Madrid were always likely to take the three points in a strange game at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu — with Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Lucas Vazquez, Alvaro Morata and a Tomasz Jodlowiec own goal on their side of the scoresheet, and Miroslav Radovic’s penalty counting as the consolation for the visitors.

The first half especially was a shootout with both sides taking turns to attack, and the Polish visitors finding it surprisingly easily to breach Madrid’s porous midfield, stricking a post at 0-0 and later testing home keeper Keylor Navas on more than one occasion.

The Los Blancos coach told a news conference afterwards that his decision to play attack-minded Asensio and James Rodriguez in a three-man midfield had affected the balance of his side.