Real 3-1 Schalke (9-2 aggregate): Ronaldo's victory
Ronaldo continued to terrorize Schalke with a brace against goalkeeper Fahrmann. After two matches, the Portuguese star has scored four goals against the Ruhr team. CR7 has now scored 242 goals for Real, equaling the record of legendary Ferenc Puskas in the list of Real's greatest scorers.
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| Ronaldo shines with double goals |
Goal:
Real: Ronaldo (21', 74'), Morata (75')
Schalke: Hoogland (31')
With a resounding 6-1 victory in Germany in the first leg, Real players entered the second leg almost as a formality. With the El Clasico match this weekend, coach Carlo Ancelotti gave many key players in the attack a rest and only kept superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Not disappointing the expectations of the Italian coach, Ronaldo had a brilliant match when he scored two goals to help his team win 3-1, thereby registering his name in the quarter-finals with the final score of 9-2.
Returning to the main developments of the match, Real, with most of the players being young and eager to show themselves, entered the game very quickly. Meanwhile, Schalke, with the mentality of having nothing to lose, also played fairly with the home team. Therefore, the speed of the match was pushed up quite high right after the opening whistle. In the first 20 minutes, the strikers of both teams did not have any really dangerous opportunities and the ball was mainly concentrated in the midfield area.
The turning point of the match was when young talent Jese Rodriguez was injured and had to leave the field to make way for Gareth Bale. The presence of this expensive contract made Real's attacking play more dangerous. And it was the 24-year-old star who had a cross that Ronaldo rushed in to finish close to the goal to open the score in the 21st minute of the match.
On Schalke's side, the fact that the midfield was completely outclassed by the Illarramendi - Alonso - Isco framework made it impossible for them to approach Casillas' goal and forced them to try their luck with long-range shots. Hoogland's equalizer in the 31st minute came from such a situation. The defender's shot from about 30 meters away was not really strong but hit Sergio Ramos's foot and changed direction, leaving Casillas helpless. This was also the final score of the first half.
In the second half, Real was still the team that controlled the game but the home team's finishing situations were not really accurate. Morata, in the rare time he was on the field from the start, missed many good opportunities. Meanwhile, Schalke, with weaker strength, did not create many dangerous situations towards the home team's goal.
What had to happen happened, after many attacks, Ronaldo finally helped Real take the lead with a solo run from midfield past an opposing defender before finishing powerfully into the near corner to defeat goalkeeper Fahrmann. And just 1 minute later, Morata, after many unlucky plays, sealed the 3-1 victory with a close-range tap-in after Bale's cross. However, the big credit for that goal was Ronaldo's run up and shot off the crossbar, sending the ball to Bale's feet.
With a resounding 9-2 victory after 2 matches, Real Madrid bravely advanced to the quarter-finals. For Ronaldo personally, 4 goals against Schalke after 2 matches helped the Portuguese superstar firmly hold the position of Champions League top scorer with 13 goals. More importantly, CR7 now has 242 goals for Real, equaling the achievement with the legendary Puskas (242 goals) to become the 4th best scorer in the history of the Royal team.
Line-up:
Real Madrid:Casillas, Varane, Ramos, Fábio Coentrao, Nacho, Xabi Alonso, Isco, Illarramendi, Ronaldo, Jesé, Morata
Schalke:Fahrmann, Hoogland, Höwedes, Matip, Kolasinac, Meyer, Draxler, Ayhan, Neustädter, Obasi, Huntelaar
According to Bongdaplus