Madrid march on as champions Milan miss out

REAL MADRID continued their smooth progress towards the knock-out stages of the Champions League by easing to a third victory in three games with a 1-0 win over Partizan Belgrade in Group F last night.

Real cruised in the first half as Partizan sat back and concentrated on getting men behind the ball, but still managed to go in front six minutes before the break when Raul got the faintest of touches to a Luis Figo header after a David Beckham corner.

Real had several chances to extend their lead, Figo sending a swirling shot narrowly over the bar, Beckham firing straight at keeper Djordje Pantic and Ronaldo going close with a stinging 20-metre effort.