Fitzgerald Cecilio

London, England

Danny Welbeck scored on a header in the first half and Cristiano Ronaldo responded with an equalizer 10 minutes after as the latest showdown between European football powerhouses Manchester United and Real Madrid ended in a 1-1 draw Wednesday in the round-of-16 match of the UEFA Champions League at the Bernabeu.

Manchester United-Real Madrid duel lived up to its hype, providing action-packed play from the head start.

With Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson promising a furious battle between the two gallant squads, Real Madrid came off to a torrid start with Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria, and Mesut Ozil leading the attack.

However, the Manchester United drew first blood when Welbeck broke loose Sergio Ramos defense before heading Wayne Rooney's corner kick in the goal in the 20th minute mark.

Then again, the Los Blancos stepped up their aggression on the offensive side, allowing Ronaldo to have all kinds of scoring opportunities.

Finally in the 30th minute, Ronaldo shook away the defense of Patrice Evra before scoring a header off a beautiful cross from Di Maria. Ronaldo, being a former Manchester United player, did not celebrate his goal as a sign of respect for his former club.

The match turned into a back-and-forth fight between the two ball clubs, who amassed a total of 41 shots and 21 corner kicks. However, both goalies played exceptionally well protecting the goal line with Diego Lopez recording five saves and David De Gea had seven saves.

The draw only means that the next leg of the round-of-16 tie between Manchester United and Real Madrid will be more intense when it shifts to Old Trafford on March 5.

On the other UEFA Champions League match, Borussia Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk played to a 2-2 draw Wednesday at Donbass Arena.

Darijo Srna tallied a goal in the 31st minute but Robert Lewandowski responded with a first-half equalizer. Douglas Costa gave Shakhtar a huge 2-1 lead in the 68th minute but Mats Hummels delivered another equalizer in the 87th minute mark.