Ronaldo fires blank as Madrid advance to Champions League Q/finals

Reigning FIFA Best Player, Christiano Ronaldo, neither scored a goal nor made an assist in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Napoli in their Champions League last-16 second leg tie in Italy on Tuesday night.

The Portuguese, who is just five goals away from 100 in the UEFA Champions League, had a chance of ending his six-game goal drought in the first half of the game, but could only hit the woodwork from a tight angle.

The hosts were utterly dominant in the first half and took the lead on 24 minutes when Marek Hamsik put Dries Mertens through on goal as Real’s defence went missing.

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Having been defeated 3-1 in the first leg, Napoli’s opener – which put the aggregate score at 2-3 – gave some hopes of a possible comeback by the Italians as the first half ended 1-0 in their favour.

But captain Sergio Ramos netted one and had another header deflected in by Mertens after the break to put Madrid in control. Alvaro Morata then followed up Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot to complete a comfortable victory for the visitors.

As defending champions, Madrid are now unbeaten in the past 12 Champions League matches (seven wins, five draws) – which is their longest run without defeat in the Champions League or European Cup, as they’ve also made it to the last-8 in seven consecutive seasons.

 

 

 

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