Real Madrid overcame an early concessions to top Napoli 3-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match on Wednesday.
Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro scored to answer Lorenzo Insigne’s opener at the Bernabeu. The second leg is March 7 in Naples.
Insigne was played in by Marek Hamsik, and the striker recognized that Keylor Navas was out of position.
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Not a good look for Navas, but credit to Insigne for having a dig from distance, and for the awareness to catch the keeper off his mark.
Carvajal then used the outside of his boot to hit a bending cross onto the head of Benzema, who scored in his fourth-straight UCL match. It was 1-1 at the break.
Kroos made it 2-1 for the hosts after attention drawn to Cristiano Ronaldo allowed to find the German with room to operate atop the 18. Casemiro scored five minutes later to give the champions breathing room.
Former Real Madrid man Jose Callejon had a goal ruled out for offside in the final 10 minutes, as Napoli nearly pulled to within one.
