Ronaldo treble torments Ajax

Cristiano Ronaldo notched his second hat-trick of the week as Real Madrid edged a step closer to the Champions League knockout stages with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Ajax in Amsterdam.

Ronaldo, who also struck three in Sunday's 5-1 Primera Division win over Deportivo La Coruna, netted in the 42nd, 79th and 81st minutes with Karim Benzema getting Madrid's other goal (48).

Ajax's goal came from Niklas Moisander in the 56th minute but they could not get any closer as Jose Mourinho's side now boast two wins from two in Group D and have opened up a two-point lead at the top.

Malaga continue to impress in their maiden Champions League campaign as they downed Anderlecht 3-0 away. Eliseu Pereira netted two superb finishes either side of a Joaquin Sanchez penalty as Manuel Pellegrini's men matched the 3-0 victory they recorded at home to Zenit St Petersburg in their Group C opener.

The Spanish side are now two points clear of second-placed AC Milan who had earlier edged out Zenit 3-2 in an exciting encounter at the Petrovski Stadium. In a battle between two sides searching for their first win, Milan stormed into a 2-0 lead after 16 minutes through Urby Emanuelson's deflected effort and a fine individual goal from Stephan El Shaarawi.

Zenit drew level with goals either side of half-time through Hulk and Roman Shirokov, but it was Milan who took the points thanks to a 76th-minute own goal from Tomas Hubocan as well as some brilliant goalkeeping from Christian Abbiati.

In Group B, Schalke are in second spot on four points after being held 2-2 at home by 10-man Montpellier. Karim Ait-Fana gave the French champions a 13th-minute lead but Schalke drew level through Julian Draxler soon after before Klaas Jan Huntelaar put the home side ahead in the 53rd minute from the penalty spot.

Montpellier also saw Garry Bocaly sent off in that incident but Schalke could not make the most of their numerical advantage or a host of good opportunities and they paid the price when Souleymane Camara scored a 90th-minute equaliser.

In Group A, Porto moved three points clear after James Rodriguez's 83rd-minute goal earned them a 1-0 home win over big-spending Paris St Germain.

Dynamo Kiev, who lost 4-1 to PSG in their first outing, joined the French outfit on three points after beating Dinamo Zagreb 2-0, the goals coming in the first half from Oleg Gusev and a Josip Pivaric own goal.