Champions League results: Real Madrid hammer Atalanta, Man City edge past Monchengladbach

LaLiga champions Real Madrid continued their exceptional run of form in the Champions League when they went on to seal a spot in the final eight following a thrilling victory over Atalanta. Elsewhere, Premier League heavyweights Manchester City hammered Borussia Monchengladbach to assert their status of being one of the favourites to clinch the Champions League title this season. 

Champions League results: Real Madrid vs Atalanta highlights as Benzema bags lead

In the first of the Champions League highlights from Monday, Zinedine Zidane's men hosted Atalanta at Alfredo di Stefano with a one-goal lead following Ferland Mendy's winner in the first leg. And Los Blancos went on to display a phenomenal form as they hammered Gian Piero Gasperini's side 3-1 at home. Karim Benzema, who was starting his second successive game after returning from an injury, was again the standout performer for Real Madrid.

Benzema opened the scoring in the 34th minute courtesy of a goalkeeping debacle by Marco Sportiello. The Atalanta shot-stopper produced a howler at the back with Luka Modric getting onto the ball, only to drive it quickly towards the Frenchman, who struck a simple goal to put his side in the front. 

Real Madrid vs Atalanta highlights: Ramos, Asensio key in Atalanta hammering 

Vinicius Jr added a much-needed spark to the attack with his speedy run to threaten the Atalanta defence. The Brazilian's pacy attributes helped Real Madrid bag a penalty after being fouled by Ruslan Malinovskiy. And skipper Sergio Ramos made no mistake from the spot to double the lead in the 60th minute. 

Luis Muriel pulled one goal back with a scintillating free-kick to beat Thibaut Courtois in the 83rd minute, but Marco Asensio struck the third goal of the night fort Zidane with his first touch of the game. With a 4-1 aggregate scoreline, the Bernabeu outfit have now advanced to the quarter-final of the European competition for the 36th time, more than any other team. 

Champions League results: Man City vs Monchengladbach highlights 

In other Champions League highlights, Man City had a comfortable two-goal lead after the first leg but Pep Guardiola's men did not let their guard down. In the 12th minute, Kevin de Bruyne scored an absolute stunner to put his side in the front. The Belgian midfielder received a thrilling pass from Riyad Mahrez before firing the ball from the edge of the box to bag the lead. 

Despite already leading with three goals on aggregate, Man City witnessed no decline in the intensity and hunger to strike further, which could prove to be vital in future UCL results. And their efforts paid a rich dividend just six minutes later. Phil Foden produced a phenomenal run before squaring the ball at Ilkay Gundogan. The German midfielder was one-on-one with Yann Sommer, before firing into the far bottom corner. 

Man City had a couple of more opportunities to extend the lead but had to settle with a 4-0 aggregate scoreline. Meanwhile, not only does Gundogan leads the scoring charts for Guardiola with 15 goals, but he is also credited as the highest-scoring German player across the top five European leagues this season, making it a delight for the English club's fans to watch the Man City vs Monchengladbach highlights.

Image courtesy: Real Madrid, Kevin de Bruyne Twitter