Cape Town - Cristiano Ronaldo ended a rare three game goalscoring drought with the first goal in Real Madrid's record equalling 10th straight Champions League win on Wednesday beating Schalke 04 2-0 in Germany.
The holders, whose other goal came through Brazilian Marcelo in the second-half, will fancy their chances of easing through to the quarter-finals when they meet in the second leg next month.
Real's victory, which fortunately for the hosts did not come near the 6-1 hammering they took in last season's last 16 first leg encounter in Germany, equalled Bayern Munich's record which was set back in December 2013.