Real Madrid went down a man early but pulled away in the second half to defeat Galatasaray and secure their place in the Champions League round of 16 as Group B winners.
With star man Cristiano Ronaldo out with an injured hamstring, Gareth Bale and Ángel Di María started on the wings for Real Madrid. Manager Carlo Ancelotti chose a very young lineup, with Jesé as the central striker over Karim Benzema and Casemiro in the double pivot next to Illarramendi instead of Xabi Alonso.
Madrid started in full control of the match, passing the ball around with confidence and almost went ahead just 3 minutes in. A delightful ball from Isco found a streaking Gareth Bale, who despite appearing slightly offside found himself one on one with goalkeeper Eray Iscan, but he sent his left footed shot wide.
Madrid continued to dominate possession and almost had another good chance when Marcelo split the legs of a Galatasaray defender in the box and fed Jesé, but the Spaniard could not find the space to get a shot off.
The game was relatively uneventful until the 26th minute, when Sergio Ramos was sent off for a tackle on Umut Bulut. The contact appeared minimal but Ramos was the last defender and it was a goalscoring opportunity so the referee had no choice but to give him his marching orders. Ancelotti quickly subbed in Nacho for Jesé, which was unfortunate for the player departing who had been looking lively.
In the 36th minute, Pepe was brought down in an attacking area by Felipe Melo, who was shown a yellow card for repeated fouls. Gareth Bale struck the resulting costless kick beautifully over the three man wall and Iscan was unable to prevent it going into his net for 1-0 to Madrid.
The celebrations didn’t last long however, as just a minute later Didier Drogba played a perfect ball into the box that caught Pepe napping. A streaking Bulut met the pass and slotted it past an onrushing Iker Casillas to equalize.
Galatasaray began to apply more pressure but the game still went end to end, and Bale had another good chance to record a goal after yet another ball played in from Isco, but he blasted his shot just over the bar. The two sides went into halftime locked at 1-1.
Everything changed in the second half, however. In the 51st minute, Madrid pulled back ahead through surprise goalscorer Álvaro Arbeloa. The fullback found the end of a beautiful cross from Di María and directed the ball past keeper Iscan, who again could have done better.
Just minutes later, brimming with confidence from his goal, Arbeloa took on a defender on the box and looked to have been tripped up, but instead was shown a yellow for simulation in what looked a harsh decision.
Arbeloa wasn’t done yet however, and almost had his brace in the 60th minute when he volleyed a Marcelo cross wide. In the 63rd minute he turned provider, feeding Di María in the box who slotted it home for 3-1.
In the 71st minute, Casillas made a pair of fine stops on shots from Didier Drogba to keep the lead comfortable for Real Madrid. Marcelo was replaced by Dani Carvajal shortly afterward and Arbeloa switched over the left side.
Madrid continued to get forward dangerously and put the nail in the coffin in the 80th minute. Isco collected the ball just outside the box and danced around a few defenders before having his shot blocked. He recovered the ball in the box, cut back on a defender and easily beat the keeper for 4-1 and the rout was fully on. Galatasaray could do nothing but wait for the final whistle and it mercifully came after just 2 minutes of stoppage time.
Real Madrid are now assured of first place in the group regardless of what happens in their final match against FC Copenhagen, while Galatasaray must beat Juventus in Istanbul for a chance to advance to the knockout rounds.