Spanish giants Real Madrid survived a nervous finish when they

conceded three late goals to edge Shakhtar Donetsk 4-3 and wrap up top

spot in Champions League Group A.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice while Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal

were also on target for Real who had already made sure of their place in

the last 16 before Wednesday’s match at the Lviv Arena.

But just four days after suffering a 4-0 mauling at the hands of

Barcelona in El Clasico, there were still worrying signs of Real’s

defensive frailities for under-pressure coach Rafael Benitez.

They were cruising at 4-0 on Wednesday before Shakhtar hit three

goals in the last 12 minutes with stand-in skipper Alex Teixeira scoring

twice and fellow Brazilian Dentinho also on target.

“Today everything went our way for most of the game,” Benitez said.

“But Shakhtar are a strong and aggressive team. There’s no surprise that they have scored at home.

“We’ve conceded 10 goals in our last three matches but today we acted

as a single unit, as a team and that’s a very encouraging sign.

“We’ve scored four goals away from home. I believe this shows that our club is moving in the right direction.”

In the night’s other Group A encounter, French champions Paris

Saint-Germain thrashed Malmo 5-0 to join Real in the knockout round.

Shakhtar, weakened by the absence of regular captain Dario Srna and

full-back Alexander Kucher, who were both suspended, needed to win to

have any chance of creeping into the last 16.

But Real were quickly into their stride. In the second minute, Modric

found the unmarked Ronaldo in the area but the Portuguese star fired

over the crossbar.

Ronaldo made amends just 16 minutes later when he scored with a close-range header from a fine cross by Gareth Bale.

Real goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was rarely troubled while Ronaldo missed

a clear chance to double his team’s lead in the 30th minute.

In the 50th minute, Ronaldo turned provider when he slipped away from

the Shakhtar defence on a breakaway before Croatian international

Mordic fired home from just outside the six-yard box.

Carvajal made it 3-0 for Real two minutes later, lobbing the ball

into the net over goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov from the edge of the penalty

area.

Ronaldo scored his second — and Real’s fourth — in the 70th minute

when he was quickest to react after Yaroslav Rakitskiy had blocked his

initial close-range shot.

Real went suddenly off the boil with Teixeira pulling a goal back

from the penalty spot in the 78th minute after Casemiro brought down

Taison in the area. 

Dentinho scored Shakhtar’s second five minutes later before Teixeira cut the deficit even further in the 88th minute.

Shakhtar manager Mircea Lucescu said: “We committed too many blunders and allowed Real to dominate play and score four times.

“You couldn’t imagine that we would produce such a dramatic comeback.

But my team showed strong character to save our pride and the club’s

reputation.”