One of the first teams going through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League will be Real Madrid as the Spanish side beat Braga at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.

Carlo Ancelotti made several changes to his team, including a rare start for players like Lucas Vazquez and Brahim Diaz, and they got the job done.

The 3-0 win was sealed with the home team relaxing as they built momentum throughout the tie despite Braga's bravery and offensive play.

Early drama

There was drama even before kick-off as Real Madrid goalkeeper Kepa withdrew from the starting line-up after experiencing a muscle strain in the warm-up.

He was replaced by Andriy Lunin, who was called into action on only four minutes as Lucas Vazquez pulled down Cristian Borja in the box to see a penalty awarded to the visitors.

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Alvaro Djalo stepped up but his tame effort was denied by Lunin in goal, keeping the scoreline level despite the early scare.

Minutes later, Brahim Diaz thought he had given the home team the lead as he sent a rocket into the back of the net, but a foul in the build-up saw it ruled out.

Brahim's strike

The playmaker was a man on a mission and he would get his goal on 27 minutes as he put Real Madrid in front, positioning himself centrally to be ready for Rodrygo Goes' cutback from the byline to score.

The goal was the only one of the first half, with Braga standing their ground well and providing a real test for the Spanish side.

In the second, the floodgates opened and Real Madrid would go on to make it three goals, with the Brazilian duo of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo getting on the scoresheet.

Both finished off fine team moves, with Vinicius dancing around the box and Rodrygo chipping over goalkeeper Matheus to convert.

The win means that Real Madrid are now through to the knock-out stages and Braga remain third after Napoli's draw with Union Berlin.