Champions League holders Real Madrid got back on track in Europe with a 5-1 victory over RB Salzburg on Wednesday to ensure they will not be eliminated at the first hurdle. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes struck twice each with French superstar Kylian Mbappe also on target in a ruthless display at the Santiago Bernabeu. Carlo Ancelotti’s side lost three of their first six games in a worrying start to the competition and will likely have to compete in the extra play-off round in February which is part of the competition’s new format, unless they can scrape a top-eight spot.

Victory left Los Blancos 16th, a point behind Bayer Leverkusen in eighth, which is the final spot for direct qualification to the last 16.

Brazilian winger Rodrygo struck twice in the first half to help Madrid take control, with Mbappe netting soon after the break and Vinicius grabbing a brace of his own to bring up a century of goals for the club.

“I’m very happy after reaching 100 goals with this shirt,” Vinicius told Movistar, noting he was close to Brazilian compatriot Ronaldo Nazario’s tally of 104.

“I hope to be able to continue like this and score a lot of goals, and mark an era in this team — that’s my dream.”

Defeats by Liverpool, AC Milan and Lille put Madrid under pressure ahead of their final two group matches and their Austrian visitors started with vim, pinning back Los Blancos.

Madrid created little of note until Rodrygo’s opener after 23 minutes changed the dynamic of the game.

The winger, in sensational form in recent weeks with eight goals in his last nine games across all competitions, finished neatly after Jude Bellingham nudged a cross into his path at the back post.

His second goal was even better, set up by Bellingham with a brilliant backheel, which Rodrygo finished first time with a crisp curling strike.

“It’s so easy to play with Jude, he makes everything easy, the movements he makes, his second assist was very nice and I love playing with him,” said Rodrygo.

‘Goals never a problem’

Mbappe notched the third early in the second half, pinching the ball from Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich and tapping home to continue his own recent run of fine form after a shaky start to life at Madrid.

Veteran midfielder Luka Modric sent Vinicius down the left with a fine pass for Madrid’s fourth, and the Brazilian finished with a powerful drive across Blaswich.

Vinicius netted again after Fede Valverde burst down the middle and put him through after a slick team breakaway, with the forward stroking home with ease after losing his marker.

Mads Bidstrup slapped home a volley late on to offer Salzburg scant consolation, as well as carrying on Madrid’s unenviable run of conceding in each of their Champions League outings this season.

Despite the late set-back, Madrid’s demolition job was just what they needed to settle nerves after their poor start.

“We’ve been through difficult moments we didn’t want to,” admitted Rodrygo.

“But this victory in the Champions League, that we needed, will give us a lot of confidence to keep going now with the big challenges ahead of us.”

Ancelotti said Bellingham was taken off in the second half with back discomfort but said it was “nothing” too problematic, and was largely happy with his team’s display.

“Scoring goals will never be a problem with these players,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“I will try to improve the team in defence, because that’s the key to success, for me it’s what we have to get better at.”

Borussia Dortmund fans have reacted with anger and frustration after former coach Jurgen Klopp’s announcement he will take over as head of football operations at Red Bull. The energy drink company, which owns Dortmund’s Bundesliga rival RB Leipzig along with teams in Salzburg and New York, made the surprise announcement on Wednesday, with the former Liverpool coach starting his role in January. Klopp became a local hero in Dortmund, delivering two Bundesliga titles and a German Cup during his seven years at the club while also taking them to the 2013 Champions League final.

The Dortmund fanzine Schwatzgelb, however, said that Klopp had destroyed his reputation and “torn it down with a bang”.

It also took issue with Klopp’s self-label of ‘the normal one’, a tongue-in-cheek reference to Jose Mourinho’s declaration he was ‘a special one’ on arriving at Chelsea.

“The normal one, unfortunately (is) normal on all levels. Normal like everyone else in this dirty business,” the magazine wrote.

“Jurgen Klopp’s decision to support Red Bull has ruined his life’s work, at least for a large proportion of fans in Dortmund and in Germany,” it said while adding he had given a “well-mannered middle finger” to Dortmund fans.

The 57-year-old had retained his reputation in Dortmund in spite of leaving for Liverpool in 2015 where he went on to win several titles, including the Champions League and Premier League, before stepping down in the summer, citing a lack of energy.

He was given a rousing reception at a testimonial match in September in front of 81,365 fans at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.

His willingness to speak out on social issues — including commercialism in football — has also formed part of his legacy, as has his ‘everyman’ appeal.

In England, he spoke out against match time slots being determined by TV networks as well as the broader issues of populism and Brexit.

He was openly critical of the European Super League in 2021, despite support from Liverpool’s ownership for the breakaway competition.

His decision to take up the job at Red Bull has annoyed Dortmund supporters who, like many fans in Germany, have a long-standing dislike of RB Leipzig.

Some fans believe Leipzig, founded in 2009, are not consistent with Germany’s 50+1 rule, which requires member control of clubs, while others have hit out at the multi-club ownership model used by Red Bull.

‘No surprise’

Surprise at Klopp’s decision was not uniform however, even at Dortmund where managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke wished him “good luck in his new job”.

“It was no surprise to me because we talked about it personally,” he told AFP’s German sports subsidiary SID on Wednesday.

Klopp had previously defended the Red Bull model while calling himself a football “traditionalist”.

In an interview with the DFL, who organise the Bundesliga, Klopp said he “understood how RB Leipzig was criticised by football traditionalists — of which I am one.

“But I find that Leipzig hasn’t taken anything away from traditional clubs, they’ve just gone their own way.

“They don’t earn more money than Dortmund, or Bayern. They develop young players — the whole idea is a football idea and not a money idea.”

Former Manchester United coach Ralf Rangnick, who held the same position Klopp will take over in January, said: “It will certainly be exciting to see what Jurgen can contribute.”