Soccer-Benzema, Bale, Ronaldo double up as Real rip Schalke apart

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored twice each as rampant Real Madrid ripped Schalke 04 apart with an empathic, one-sided 6-1 away win in the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie on Wednesday. Benzema and Bale quickly put Real in control as Real raced to a 2-0 lead in 21 minutes at the Stadion Gelsenkirchen and Ronaldo also hit the post before the break. Ronaldo increased the lead with his 10th goal of the competition in the 52nd minute before setting up Benzema for the fourth with a delightful flick five minutes later. Bale added the fifth in the 69th minute and Ronaldo rounded off the rout before Klaas-Jan Huntelaar pulled one back in stoppage time as Schalke slumped to their heaviest defeat in European competition. (Reporting by Brian Homewood, editing by Rex Gowar)