Real Madrid beat Ludogorets Razgrad 4-0 tonight to ensure they finish this season's group stage of the Champions League with a 100% record.
First-half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, after Marcelinho was sent off for the visitors, helped the Blancos well on their way to a sixth straight win in Group B.
Alvaro Arbeloa added a third, before Alvaro Medran made it four with a deflected effort late on to down the Bulgarians.
Relive all of the action with Sports Mole's live commentary below.
6.47pmGood evening ladies and gents! I'm Shane and I'll be guiding you through Real Madrid's final Group B game of the Champions League, where Ludogorets Razgrad stand between them and a perfect group-stage campaign. They're the only side left in the competition able to maintain their 100% record. What a team. #flawless.
6.50pmIf that wasn't impressive enough then chew on this my friends: Carlo Ancelotti's side are also vying for their 19th successive victory in all competitions tonight and, if successful, they'd strip Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona team of the 2005-06 season of the Spanish record. Do they need any more incentive?
6.53pmMadrid equalled the record on Saturday with an 18th straight win in the 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo, which also saw Cristiano Ronaldo strengthen his Ballon d'Or bid with a record-breaking 23rd La Liga hat-trick. He's a tad special, isn't he, and he's already 31 goals in all competitions this season - and he'll definitely fancy his chances of adding to that outrageous haul tonight, but he will have to play well because Ludogorets are no mugs.
6.56pmGeorgi Dermendzhiev's side produced a battling performance against the Blancos in Razgrad on matchday two, losing only 2-1, with Karim Benzema netting the winner 13 minutes from time. The Bulgarians have done remarkably well in the competition this season. Here's the story of their group-stage campaign:
6.59pmThey were seconds away from holding Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Anfield on matchday one, only for Steven Gerrard to net a last-gasp penalty. They lost by the same scoreline against Madrid a fortnight later, before opening their account with a 1-0 win over Basel, who got revenge with a 4-0 win in Switzerland. And they battled to a 2-2 draw with Liverpool last time out, with Georgi Terziev netting a late equaliser. You could argue that four points from a possible 15 doesn't really tell the whole story with Ludogorets, does it?
7.02pmThey've lost just one in their last 11 games domestically, winning seven of those so perhaps we shouldn't act as if a Real Madrid win is a foregone conclusion tonight. In fact, they've got far more to play for because, despite the fact they cannot reach the last 16, they can nab a Europa League place if they get a point and Basel beat Liverpool. It's a big ask, but they'll give it their all.
7.05pmOkay so let's get you fixed up with some team news, which I'll have very, very shortly.
7.07pmREAL MADRID XI: Navas; Arbeloa, Varane, Nacho, Coentrão; Illarramendi, Kroos, Isco; Bale, Hernández, Ronaldo
7.09pmLUDOGORETS XI: Stoyanov; Caicara, Moti, Terziev, Minev; Dyakov, Fabio Espinho, Alexandrov; Dani Abalo, Marcelinho; Misidjan
7.10pmREAL MADRID SUBS: Benzema, Casillas, Pepe, Marcelo, Carvajal, Jese, Medran
7.11pmLUDOGORETS RAZGRAD SUBS: Borjan, Aleskandrov, Abel, Zlatinski, Wanderson, Junior Quixada, Hamza
7.14pmOkay then let's have a look at the hosts first and, as expected, Ancelotti makes a raft of changes to his first XI from Saturday's win over Celta Vigo - seven, to be exact. Keylor Navas replaces Iker Casillas between the sticks, while Alvaro Arbeloa, Raphael Varane, Nacho and Fabio Coentrao come into defence. They fly off to Morocco at the weekend for the World Club Cup, hence the changes. Oh, and they're already qualified as Group B winners so, really, it's a nothing game for them.
7.17pmThere's also changes in midfield, with the injured James Rodriguez making way for Isco, while Javier Hernandez replaces Karim Benzema through the middle, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale on either side of him. It's worth pointing out that Hernandez also started the 2-1 win in Sofia, where he had an absolute MARE! He'll want to put things right tonight, and he most definitely should with the likes of Ronaldo and Bale beside him.
7.20pmOn to Ludogorets now and I can tell you that Virgil Misidjan is preferred to Junior Quixada in attack tonight. He spearheads the attack, with Dani Abalo and Marcelinho - who have scored three of Ludogorets' five goals in the competition so far - supporting him, while Fabio Espinho, Mihail Alexandrov and Svetoslav Dyakov anchor the midfield. In defence, you'll find Junior Caicara at right-back, Yordan Minev at left-back and Georgi Terziev and Cosmin Moti in the middle, in front of Vladislav Stoyanov. They're going for it, which is good to see.
7.23pmBENCH WATCH: Karim Benzema warms the Real bench tonight, having scored five in Madrid's five group games this season - and 41 in 69 Champions League games overall! He's a threat. What about Ludogorets? Well they've got the luxury of having Wanderson, who has six goals in the Bulgarian league, in the dugout tonight. He's one of five Brazilians in their squad actually #samba #what #needlesshashtag #ineedtounfollowOptapeople
7.27pmDANGER MAN: Who's Real Madrid's danger man tonight then? Do we even have to say it? I don't think so. He's got 31 goals in all competitions this season, a haul that he will most probably improve on this evening. I'm not a football manager - though I did win the UEFA Cup with Fulham in the 2001-02 edition of Championsip Manager - but I don't see what Georgi Dermendzhiev can do to combat Ronaldo tonight. He's a phenom.
7.30pmBut who can Ludogorets look to for a bit of inspiration? Well, with two goals, midfielder Dani Abalo is their leading scorer in the competition this season, and he is also their joint top goalscorer in the Bulgarian league so far with six. He opened the scoring in last month's 2-2 draw with Liverpool, having also struck a 90th-minute equaliser against the Reds at Anfield on matchday one. He's got goals in him, and he's playing in his homeland tonight of course.
7.33pmDID YOU KNOW? Monaco striker Dimitar Berbatov is the last Bulgarian player to score at the Santiago Bernabeu? Yep. He scored for Bayer Leverkusen here back in 2004. Will he still hold that distinction by 9.45 pm tonight? We'll have to wait and see.
7.35pm10 minutes until kickoff now, my friends - but who will signal the start of the game? Let's have a look at tonight's referee.
7.37pmREFEREE WATCH: Who's in charge tonight then? That's Clement Turpin. By virtue of the fact that he's only presided over three Champions League games in the past, it would be fair to say that the Frenchman is a bit of a novice on this stage, but let's hope he gives a good account of himself this evening. Incidentally, he has taken charge of a Ludogorets clash before - a 3-0 defeat to Valencia in the Europa League last season.
7.41pmPREDICTION! Right, cards on the table time: how do we see this one going? I see a Real win, but I think it'll be tricky. I'll punt for 3-1 to the hosts. They're under-strength tonight, but they still should most definitely have enough to get past the Bulgarians. Four minutes until kickoff!
7.44pmRight, the players are out on the field, exchanging the pre-match handshakes to the sound of the Champions League anthem. We're just minutes away now.
1 minKICKOFF: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're off in the Bernabeu and Real Madrid already show their intent, Ronaldo ghosting past Caicara before poking a hopeful ball into the box but it's cleared.
3 minCHANCES! Really good start by Madrid here, With Ronaldo forcing Stoyanov into a decent early save, before Gareth Bale leapt brilliantly to meet Isco's corner, but his header flew over the bar.
4 minSHOT! Unperturbed by Real's early pressure, Marcelinho registers Ludogorets' first shot; taking aim from outside the box but his shot is straight at Keylor Navas. They've already registered one more shot on target than Celta Vigo did here on Saturday!
6 minGood play from Bale as he comes very close to threading Ronaldo through on goal, but Stoyanov comes off his line well to snuff out the danger.
8 minDodgy play from Keylor Navas there. He plays a ball to Toni Kroos, but he's surrounded by green shirts and he gets dispossessed, but fortunately for Navas the German is fouled and wins a free kick.
9 minMarcelinho concedes a poor free kick in a very, very dangerous area now. Bale or Ronaldo - who is going to take this?
10 minRonaldo left it for Bale, who struck the free kick but Mikail Alexandrov rose well from the wall to divert if off course.
12 minThe sting has been taken out of this one a little in recent minutes. Real still dominating in the final third, but Ludogorets look a very decent side on the counter you know. It's not straight forward this one.
14 minSAVE! This is a big chance and the best one of the game so far, as Isco is played in by Illarramendi, but Stoyanov is alert and prevents the former Malaga man from dinking over him. Good save.
16 minCLOSE! Oh my word this is so close. Asier Illarramendi does brilliantly to intercept Marcelinho I think it was, and Ronaldo has a first-time shot straight away but it's deflected just wide of the mark. They're purring now.
18 minSAVE! This is a really, really good game, and Ludogorets come close to taking the lead as Misidjan cuts inside Arbeloa as he looks to curl around Navas, but the keeper does well to palm it away to safety.
20 minRED CARD & PENALTY!!! Marcelinho is sent off after handling the ball on the line, with Gareth Bale scoring from the rebound, but the referee had already blown. Ronaldo will take this...
21 minGOAL!!! REAL MADRID 1-0 LUDOGORETS (Cristiano Ronaldo)
22 minBrilliant penalty from Ronaldo, taking a big run-up to suggest he was going to smash it, but he delicately passes down the middle of the net to beat Stoyanov. It's such a big ask for Ludogorets now. Silly, silly error from Marcelinho.
23 minCLOSE! Ronaldo turns provider and it's very nearly 2-0, as the Portuguese drills a brilliant ball across the face of goal but Hernandez, despite stretching, isn't quite tall enough to poke it home. You have to worry about the visitors.
25 minOFF THE POST! Toni Kroos takes aim from outside the box, and the ball squeezes beneath Stoyanov and rebounds off the post, and Ronaldo looked certain to convert the rebound but Stoyanov made amends with a brilliant save, before Hernandez fired the second rebound well over the bar. Ronaldo should've scored, but Hernandez DEFINITELY should have.
27 minUPDATE: Liverpool are losing 1-0 to Basel at Anfield in the night's other Group B game. If it stays like that, and Ludogorets somehow manage to get a draw from this, then they'll move into the Europa League.
29 minIs Illarramendi really behind Modric AND Khedira in the pecking order? He's been absolutely superb in this half, on and off the ball.
31 minDani Abalo is down on the turf holding his stomach now after being bundled over in an off-the-ball incident with Arbeloa. He's back on his feet now thankfully.
33 minIf they reach half-time and it's still 1-0 then that represents a victory in itself, because Real could and should be three or four up now. Ludogorets, to their credit, have been strong since going down to 10 men. They're certainly not camped in their own half anyway.
35 minludogorets keeper Stoyanov has been brilliant. He's just came off his line to pluck an Arbeloa-bound ball from Cristiano Ronaldo to prevent the right-back from tapping home. It's been a half of a few positives for the visitors, and their keeper is definitely among them.
37 minGOAL!!!! REAL MADRID 2-0 LUDOGORETS (Gareth Bale)
38 minSuperb header from Gareth Bale there. He leaps so high to reach Toni Kroos's pin-point corner to head home via the crossbar Tony Yeboah style. Misidjan perhaps a bit culpable for letting Bale run past him.
40 minSAVE! Good strong save from Navas, who tips Fabio Espinho's dipping shot over the bar. Ludogorets haven't been bad you know. They don't deserve the beating they're going to receive tonight.
43 minTwo minutes left until half time and it'll be devestating for Ludogorets if they go into the break three down.
8.30pmHALF TIME: REAL MADRID 2-0 LUDOGORETS RAZGRAD
8.33pmWell, that's all she wrote for that half. Real boast a 2-0 half-time lead. Is it deserved? Definitely, but Ludogorets have been very decent too, to their credit.
8.36pmThey went down to 10 men on 19 minutes after Marcelinho prevented Varane from scoring by handling on the line, resulting in a deserved red card. It was completely stupid by the Brazilian because Ludogorets had been in the game up until that point.
8.40pmUPDATE: We should point out that Liverpool are on their way out of the competition as it stands. They're losing 1-0 to Basel at Anfield. If it stays like that, and if by some miracle Ludogorets earn a draw here, then the Bulgarians would then pip the Reds to the Europa League.
8.41pmAnyway, meet me back here in a few minutes to see if Ludogorets can indeed stage what seems an extremely unlikely comeback, or if Real will seal their record-breaking 19th straight win.
45 minRESTART: Aaaaaaaaand we are back underway here folks. Ludogorets kick us off but Real already have possession. Could be a long 45 minutes.
49 minSlow start by Real Madrid despite their obvious advantage. Ludogorets have defended well so far, but they can't possibly keep it up for 45 minutes. It's nigh-on impossible. This won't end 2-0.
50 minCLOSE! This is very close from Arbeloa, who nips in ahead of Minev to reach Coentrao's cross, but he heads narrowly over the bar.
52 minSAVE! Another really good chance for Real as the jet-heeled Gareth Bale stretches those long legs to reach a Kroos's incisive pass, but his left-footed toe-poke is well saved by Stoyanov, who has been excellent he really has.
54 minIsco is growing more and more influential as the minutes tick on. If and when Real bag a third goal then he will probably have a big role in it.
57 minSAVE! Coentrao floats a wonderful ball into the box for Hernandez, whose header isn't strong enough to beat Stoyanov.
59 minSAVE! Straight-forward save from Navas but it's testament to how adventurous the 10 men of Ludogorets have been, and it's Dyakov, who gallops forward from midfield but his effort is tipped over the bar.
61 minSUBSTITUTIONS: Coentrao and toni Kroos make way for Marcelo and Jese, who makes his first-team return after suffering a knee injury back in March. Meanwhile, Wanderson also replaces Alexandrov for the visitors.
64 minSUBSTITUTIONS: Another sub from Ludogorets now as Anicet Abel replaces Fabio Espinho, who didn't do much in midfield it has to be said. Can those two subs inspire the Bulgarians then? Let's see.
66 minSAVE! Poor. So poor from Hernandez, who is played in by Isco but his close-range shot is palmed to safety by Stoyanov. It was a very decent save but Hernandez should certainly be scoring.
70 minRight, we're 20 minutes away from full time and it pains me to say that we will not be seeing a miracle this evening. Real Madrid will win, but it'll be harsh on Ludogorets if they do so by more than a two-goal margin.
73 minOFF THE BAR! Arbeloa comes within the width of the crossbar from putting this game to bed as his header rattles off the woodwork. He has tried very, very hard to get on the scoresheet tonight. He must've backed himself anytime goal.
76 minJunior Quixadá has a brilliant chance just then but he overplays it. So poor.
78 minCLOSE! Wow this is so, so close to a third goal. Hernandez cuts back for Bale, who thrashed a right-footed half-volley millimetres wide of the mark. Stoyanov has been brilliant but he was absolutely not reaching that.
80 minUPDATE: It's still 1-0 at Anfield and Liverpool, who now have 10 men after Lazar Markovic was sent off, have just 10 minutes to score two goals. It's not going to happen, is it?
80 minGOAL!!! REAL MADRID 3-0 LUDOGORETS (Alvaro Arbeloa)
81 minWe said he probably had himself backed for anytime goal, and it's paid off as Arbeloa makes it three. He volleys at goal from a cross but, despite the very best efforts of Stoyanov, he can't keep it the right side of the white line and the official behind the goal awards the goal. So those people can award goals then?
83 minUPDATE: The 10 men of Liverpool have equalised at Anfield and it's none other than Steven Gerrard. What a big last 10 minutes on Merseyside.
85 minInto the last five minutes here then and Real are on the brink of a 19th successive win. Not bad init. It's job done here.
87 minGOAL!!! REAL MADRID 4-0 LUDOGORETS (Alvaro Medran)
89 minWhat a way to mark your Champions League debut, as 20-year-old debut Medran fires a left-footed shot at goal and watches it loop over Stoyanov. That's that.
90 minTHREE MINUTES ADDED ON:
9.34pmFULL TIME: REAL MADRID 4-0 LUDOGORETS RAZGRAD
9.35pmThat's all she wrote here at the Bernabeu, my friends. Ludogorets go down, but boy did they go down fighting. Gutsy performance from the visitors who eventually succumbed to a 4-0 defeat.
9.36pmUPDATE: I can confirm that Liverpool have been knocked out of the competition after drawing 1-1 with Basel at Anfield. They needed to win, but Basel and Real Madrid progress into the last 16.
9.37pmAnyway, that's all we've got time for. Stay tuned for analysis, player ratings and all that good stuff. See you next time folks.
