Ronaldo found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons following Saturday's Primera Division match against Almeria after he was sent off late on for two avoidable yellow cards.

The first was for taking his shirt off after netting his side's fourth goal in the 84th minute and then four minutes later he was given his marching orders for kicking opponent Juanma Ortiz following a tussle near the touchline.

The world's most expensive player also drew attention to himself for not celebrating Karim Benzema's crucial 82nd-minute goal when the Frenchman followed up to score after Ronaldo's penalty had been saved.

The Portugal international was again the centre of attention following last night's Champions League match against Marseille, but this time for all the right reasons as his two goals - including a brilliant long-range free-kick early on - helped Madrid record a 3-1 win and guarantee themselves top spot in Group C.

Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini said of the £80million summer signing, who has only recently returned to action after almost two months out injured: "We all saw what happened with Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday but he wasn't affected at all here.

"We knew that he's a great professional and that it wasn't going to affect his performance.

"Physically it's been very good for him to play 90 minutes, and it's very good for his morale to score two goals

"I played Cristiano in a floating role in attack like I did with (Gonzalo) Higuain and Benzema. I wanted freedom for them and this makes them more dangerous and difficult to stop.

"He (Ronaldo) makes his presence felt on the pitch, makes a difference and translates that both into goals and good play."

Madrid general director Jorge Valdano and French legend Zinedine Zidane also heaped praise on Ronaldo following his performance at the Stade Velodrome.

"Everyone knows that the presence of Cristiano makes us more powerful, more intimidating and he helps fill the whole team with confidence," said Valdano.

Marseille-born Zidane, who starred for Madrid between 2001 and 2006 and who held the tag as the world's most expensive transfer prior to this summer, added: "Cristiano is not just very good, he is phenomenal.

"He does fantastic things, at times even better then me.

"Only great players can score such a magnificent goal three minutes into a game. He makes a difference. Some players are different from the rest because they do what others can't."

The three-time FIFA World Player of the Year added about his former club: "Madrid looked very good to me, of course they can win a 10th European Cup.

"They have very good players, they are improving as a team and it's only been four months. I would've liked Marseille to have also got through, but Madrid were superior."

"You can tell Pellegrini is gradually finding the right system. People should watch out for Real Madrid," he was quoted as saying on the Real Madrid website.

Madrid will have to do without Ronaldo for this weekend's Primera Division trip to third-placed Valencia though as he serves a ban for his red card against Almeria.

Defender Raul Albiol, who joined Madrid from Valencia this summer, admits they will miss Ronaldo, but is confident they can still come away from the Mestalla with a good result.

"He is a phenomenon, but we have the players to play at the Mestalla and win there without him."