Real Madrid withstood a second-half onslaught from Galatasaray to qualify for their third successive Champions League semi-final 5-3 on aggregate, despite losing 3-2 on the night.Already leading 3-0 from the first-leg last week, it took Los Blancos just eight minutes to build on their advantage as Sami Khedira crossed for Cristiano Ronaldo to prod home from close range.
However, after Ronaldo had missed a gilt edged opportunity to double his tally on the night, Galatasaray produced a remarkable comeback as Emmanuel Eboue thumped in an equaliser from the edge of the box.
Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba then added two goals in a minute to ensure a nervy final 18 minutes for Madrid.
Alvaro Arbeloa saw two quick-fire yellow cards a minute from time to ensure he will miss the first-leg of the semi-final, before Ronaldo sealed Madrid's path into the last four with another sweet strike in stoppage time — his 49th in the Champions League taking him to fifth on the all-time list. Quick bites | They say
{{/usCountry}}Alvaro Arbeloa saw two quick-fire yellow cards a minute from time to ensure he will miss the first-leg of the semi-final, before Ronaldo sealed Madrid's path into the last four with another sweet strike in stoppage time — his 49th in the Champions League taking him to fifth on the all-time list. Quick bites | They say
{{/usCountry}}Ronaldo’s brace also took him past club legend Alfredo di Stefano into 11th place in the all-time records for goals scored in European competitions, but he was more concerned with having achieved a place in the last four.
“The team is fine, they gave me good passes and I did my job, which is to score goals. We have achieved our objective and now we wait to see who we will play next,” he said.