Cristiano Ronaldo looked in good touch and inspired Real Madrid to a win against hosts FC Zürich. The final score read Zürich 2 – 5 Real Madrid.
Ronaldo scored from a free-kick which was well within the reach of the Swiss team’s keeper, Raúl added a second with a close range shot followed by Gonzalo Higuaín netting the third. Real Madrid scored 3 goals in the first-half and the game seemed to have ended. However, Zürich made a thrilling come-back with two goals within minutes, Xavier Margairaz converted a penalty while  Silvan Aegerter scored with a header. The game looked competitive once again until Ronaldo’s 89′ goal and Guti added another in the added time.

Xabi Alonso also looked in good form with some  accurate passes to both Ronaldo and Kaka, sadly though he had to be substituted after going over on his ankle in the 55′ and was replaced by  Fernando Gago.

Madrid played some flowing offensive football with all the new signing’s namely Alonso, Ronaldo and Kaka demonstrating good movement. Coach Pellegrini has some cause for concern with a few lapses in defense and an injury to Xabi Alonso.

Zürich showed great character and seemed unperturbed by the Spanish giants. The final score doesn’t portray the effort and courage the Swiss outfit displayed against a far better side.

In other matches, English teams – Manchester United and Chelsea began their campaigns with a victory each. Bayern Munich also gained 3 points, Wolfsburg and AC Milan persisted in their respective matches, while Juventus were held by Bordeaux and Athelico Madrid failed to overcome APOEL Nicosia.

Man Untd won a tough encounter with the Turkish club Besiktas, thanks to Paul Scholes’ well-placed header. Chelsea had to not only negotiate Porto but also the weather conditions at Stamford Bridge, but managed to win the game 1 – 0 with Anelka striking. Porto’s Fernando was sent-off during the match.

Upcoming Champions League Matches on September 16, 2009:

(All times are CET)

Dynamo Kyiv    20:45    Rubin
Internazionale    20:45    Barcelona
Liverpool    20:45    Debrecen
Lyon    20:45    Fiorentina
Olympiacos    20:45    AZ
Sevilla    20:45    Unirea Urziceni
Standard    20:45    Arsenal
Stuttgart    20:45    Rangers