Malta Independent

Ronaldo hat trick sees Real through after extra time

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Real Madrid 4 Bayern Munich 2 (Real Madrid 6-3 agg)

Real Madrid have booked their spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League after recording a 4-2 victory over Bayern Munich in the second leg of their quarter-final at the Bernabeu yesterdayd­ay night.

Ten-man Bayern led 2-1 after 90 minutes to force extra-time after Real Madrid's success by the same scoreline at the Allianz Arena last week, but Cristiano Ronaldo's second of the night in the 105th minute effectivel­y decided the tie.

Ronaldo then completed his hat-trick in the second period of extra-time as the Portugal internatio­nal registered his 100th goal in the Champions League, before substitute Marco Asensio made it 4-2 on the night late on.

A calf problem kept Gareth Bale on the sidelines, meaning that Isco joined Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in the final third for Real Madrid, while it was again Nacho alongside Sergio Ramos in central defence.

A wonderful defensive clearance from Marcelo prevented Robben from sending Bayern ahead early in the second period, but the German champions were awarded a penalty in the 51st minute when Robben went down in the box under a clumsy challenge from Casemiro.

Vidal missed from the spot last week, but Lewandowsk­i made no mistake at the Bernabeu as the returning striker sent the ball past Keylor Navas to send Bayern into a 1-0 lead on the night.

Vidal should have scored a second for the visitors less than two minutes later after being found unmarked inside the Real Madrid box, but the Chilean somehow scooped his effort over the crossbar from close range, before Franck Ribery brought a smart save from the Real Madrid goalkeeper just before the hour.

It was an end-to-end game in the 75th minute as both teams committed players in the final third of the field, and Thomas Muller was next off the Bayern bench as the Germans desperatel­y looked for a second goal.

When Ronaldo headed a Casemiro pass into the Bayern net in the 76th minute, Real Madrid had some insurance in the tie, but Bayern incredibly took a 2-1 lead less than two minutes later when Ramos bizarrely turned into his own net after a mix-up in the home side's defence.

The tie then turned in Real Madrid's favour in the 84th minute when Vidal picked up his second yellow card for a late challenge on Asensio, leaving Bayern with 10 men against Los Blancos for the second successive match.

Lewandowsk­i had to be replaced in the 88th minute after putting in a long shift carrying a shoulder problem, and Bayern survived some late pressure from the home side to force an additional 30 minutes.

Ronaldo came close to sending Real Madrid ahead in the tie in the seventh minute of extra-time when he struck a powerful effort from distance, but Neuer was on hand to make another smart save, before the German goalkeeper made an even better stop to deny Asensio two minutes later.

Bayern could not hold on, however, and Real Madrid scored their second of the night in the 105th minute when Ronaldo collected a sweeping pass from Ramos before firing into the bottom corner. Replays though showed that the Portuguese was in an offside position in what was a bitter pill for the visitors to swallow.

Ronaldo then completed his hat-trick in the 110th minute after tapping a Marcelo cross into the back of the net, before a brilliant individual goal from Asensio two minutes later made it 4-2 on the night and 6-3 on aggregate as Real Madrid joined their rivals Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the competitio­n.

 ??  ?? Ronaldo’s second goal from a clear offside position
Ronaldo’s second goal from a clear offside position

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