Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 41st and 42nd goals of the season in all competitions to inspire Real Madrid past CSKA Moscow 4-1 on the night, 5-2 on aggregate.

Real Madrid have been in unstoppable form as of late, having overcome a determined Real Betis outfit in La Liga at the weekend, further establishing their title credentials. Even so, Mourinho and co. went into the match holding a very slim away goals lead over their Russian opposition.

Los Merengues struggled for innovation early on and in fact, were nearly undone on two separate occasions in the opening quarter hour. First Dzagoev played Seydou Doumbia clean through on goal, but the Ivory Coast international wastefully blasted over, much to the relief of the Bernabeu faithful. A minute later, Ronaldo had his first sight of goal but shot straight at Chepchugov from a tight angle. Shortly afterwards, Doumbia again squandered a fine chance to put CSKA ahead after being set up by Ahmed Musa.

Ronaldo a constant threat

The hosts eventually began to dominate proceedings and started to look more dangerous as the half wore on. Ronaldo was especially influential in splitting open the Russian’s defence, and nearly set up Higuain on more than one occasion. The opening goal eventually came in the 26th minute when Kaka rolled the ball across the face of goal for Higuain to poke home. It was a deserved lead for the hosts, but CSKA Moscow looked far from giving up and at the half time break still only required one goal to equalise on aggregate.

Madrid continued to look for the killer second goal and found it in the 55th minute through Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger cut in from the left and rifled in a bouncing shot from 35 yards that Chepchugov made an absolute meal of. In spite of being third choice keeper for CSKA, the Russian keeper had actually played quite well until Ronaldo’s speculative strike eluded him, and there was no mistaking the fact that it should have been a routine save.

Ronaldo continued to run riot down the left flank, causing all sorts of problems for the visitor’s defence. At the other end, CSKA thought they had got one back in the 65th minute but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Benzema in a hurry

Higuain made way for Karim Benzema, and the French striker wasted no time in getting his name on the scoresheet, scoring less than 30 seconds after his introduction. The Russians refused to cave in however, and ex-Manchester United winger Zoran Tosic scored a wonderful goal in the 76th minute. The visitors launched a sweeping counterattack from right to left across the pitch and when Tosic received the ball, he cut inside on his left foot and let loose with a fierce strike that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar.

The goal seemed to inspire the Russians and Real’s concentration began to waver, requiring them to deal with a few unnerving moments during the final quarter hour. Cristiano Ronaldo ended any lingering fears by adding his second of the night in stoppage time when he converted Benzema’s cross from close range. In the end, Tosic’s magnificent strike was only consolation for the Russians, and the Spanish juggernauts march on into the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the second year running.

Mourinho will have been displeased with the manner in which they finished the game, but their ability to overcome tribulation even when playing poorly is undoubtedly a vital asset that will serve them well in the latter stages of the tournament.

Benfica next up?

Ronaldo had said on the eve of the match that he would look forward to a match-up against Benfica. The quarter final draw takes place on Friday.

by Nathan Motz

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