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Real Madrid secured first place in Group G of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Roma at Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday, although the Italians also qualify for the knockout stages.
Real's win, thanks to goals from Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez in the second half, means the European champions will be assured of dominating the group thanks to a better face-to-face record with their hosts.
Like Real, Roma have already secured a place in the round of 16 with a game to lose thanks to Viktoria Plzen 's 2-1 win at CSKA Moscow early in the match allowed the Eusebio di Francesco team to have five points ahead of third place.
Real and Roma started the match with nine points, but both suffered a sudden defeat in the final this weekend. The Italians lost 1-0 to Udinese, while Madrid lost 3-0 to Eibar.
Striker Edin Dzeko, the league's top scorer this season with five goals, was marked by Roma's absence. The absence of the Bosnian was felt during a useless first half.
Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois blocked Patrik Schick's efforts at close range before a strike from afar to Aleksandar Kolarov whistles, but Cengiz Under misses the best opportunity that comes up just before the break, when he hits at close range.
The local team had to pay for their goal debut while Real led ahead in the two minutes following the restart, when Welshman Gareth Bale jumped on a bad head to return to the goal of Federico Fazio before finishing in the corner.
The Santiago Solari team has doubled the advantage just before the hour. Bale threw a cross to the back post and Karim Benzema put the ball on a plate to allow Vazquez to play.
It stunned Roma and it was the visitors who threatened to find a third one. Marcelo and Benzema both tested Robin Olsen in the Roma goal.
The result ended a run of eight undefeated Champions League home games for Roma, making Real the first outgoing team to win Olimpico in Europe from Porto in August 2016.
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