A 2-0 home victory for Los Blancos over the Giallorossi last night meant they won the tie 4-0 on aggregate and sealed their passage in the UEFA Champions League quarter –finals.
Los Merengues, the ten-time winners, were up 2-0 from the first leg in the Italian capital, as they probed the visitors' goal in the first period; Roma were the better side in the opening hour and produced their best chances through Edin Dzeko and the Egypt winger Mohamed Salah.
The Italians were made to rue their missed opportunities, when Cristiano Ronaldo crashed in a volley at the near post from a Lucas Vasquez assist, in the 64th minute of the match - this was the Portuguese forward’s 40th goal of the season, 13th in this season's Champions League.
Four minutes later the man from Madeira set up James Rodriguez for the killer second, before missing a clear chance from another attempted assist from Vasquez to make it 3-0.
Ronaldo was in a good form and appeared to be on a mission to win his supporters over; the club’s all – time top scorer has not been on his best terms with Real fans, after his criticismabout some of team-mates following their defeat by Atletico Madrid in February.
The 2014 Champions recent worries have coincided with Gareth Bale’s calf strain injury; last night he made his first start since 17th January, and played for an hour; the Welsh international was then substituted by Vazquez, who assisted the Ronaldo’s opener.
The last night’s win at the Bernabéu was a notable result for Los Blancos, that should keep their manager Zinédine Zidane happy; but while the Spanish side demonstrated their impressive attacking play, their defending was sub-standard and far below expectations of potential European champions.
Real are now third in La Liga, trailing the leaders Barcelona by 12 points and Atletico Madrid by four; winning the UEFA Champions League remains their only realistic chance of silverware, after a poor season, where they have also crashed out of the Copa del Rey.
