Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo was on song when his Real Madrid side beat Wolfsburg 3-0 in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg match on Tuesday night, with the player scoring a hat-trick to secure progression to the semi-finals of the competition.
The match at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid was on a knife edge before the whistle, as Wolfsburg had won the first leg 2-0 in Germany, and they travelled to Spain with the confidence of a team with a commanding lead.
This would soon be nullified, however, as a determined Ronaldo would be on hand to produce a fine performance for the Galacticos.
The Portugal international opened the scoring early on, with an easy tap in from just outside of goal in the 14th minute. Two minutes later the striker placed an excellent header to beat the Wolfsburg keeper and equalise on aggregate.
The relentless pressure from Real Madrid was rewarded 13 minutes from time, with Ronaldo scoring with an excellent free kick to complete his hat-trick.
Ronaldo’s third of the match was his 16th of the current Champions League season from 10 games, proving his prolific nature in front of goal.
It had been 25 years since Real Madrid last turned around a 2-0 first leg deficit, and they move on to the semi-final stage of the competition confident in the knowledge that their attack is led by an in form Ronaldo.
English Premier League outfit Manchester City secured their first ever UEFA Champions League semi-final with a narrow 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in England on Tuesday night.
Both teams went into the encounter aware that the 2-2 first leg draw favoured the Citizens as the home side, but they did not do themselves any favours when striker Sergio Aguero missed a penalty in the first half.
The important goal would come in the second half, however, as Dutch defender Kevin De Bruyne pushed forward and curled in a wonderful strike 14 minutes from the end of the match to secure his team a place in the last four of the competition.
