Cristiano Ronaldo hits hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Wolfsburg 3-0 to book Champions League semi-final berth

Andy West 01:16 13/04/2016
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  • Ronaldo helped Real Madrid overturn a two-goal deficit at the Bernabeu.

    Cometh the hour, cometh Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer powered his team into the Champions League semi-final with a hat-trick to sink Wolfsburg, who will leave thinking they deserved more from a game which was finely poised for a long time.

    And although there were plenty of sub-plots to a fascinating tie which could have easily gone either way, Ronaldo will claim all the headlines for rescuing his team with his sixth treble of the season.

    After a calm and controlled start which saw both teams appearing content to settle gradually into the contest, the tie swung dramatically in favour of the home team as Ronaldo registered a rapid brace.

    The opener was a slightly scrappy effort as Dani Carvajal’s half-hit cross bobbled across the penalty box and evaded the visiting defence to reach the Portuguese ace, who had a simple task of finishing at the far post.

    And with the Bernabeu bouncing, Madrid levelled the aggregate score less than two minutes later when Ronaldo met Toni Kroos’s inswinging corner with a flicked near post header to give Wolfsburg keeper Diego Benaglio no chance.

    Patience had been the pre-match mantra of Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, and his team certainly heeded that advice because they were anything but gung-ho in their first half attacking efforts despite the momentum gained by Ronaldo’s quick-fire double.

    Indeed, the hosts often appeared to be content to play on the counter-attack, with the result that Wolfsburg grew in confidence and enjoyed a fair amount of possession in the final third.

    And Wolfsburg twice came close to a crucial away goal in the opening period’s latter stages, firstly when Luis Gustavo’s powerful long-range strike forced Keylor Navas to stretch and tip the ball over, and then when Bruno Henrique received a right-wing cross but hesitated too long and had his shot deflected wide.

    The visitors will certainly have been frustrated to head into the interval two goals down, with the half-time corner count of 3-4 in the German team’s favour painting a more accurate picture than the scoreline.

    But that picture immediately changed in the early stages of the second half, which saw an almost constant flow of white shirts towards the visiting goal, although Madrid had nothing more than a deflected free-kick from Ronaldo to show for their dominance.

    The onset of teeming rain only served to heighten the sense of drama as Wolfsburg finally became an attacking force as the game moved past the hour-mark.

    But the visitors then had an enormous let-off when Sergio Ramos met a corner with a powerful header which crashed against the inside of the right post and rolled along the goalline into the grateful Benaglio’s arms.

    Just when the prospect of half-time was being seriously contemplated, that man Ronaldo again stepped up after Luka Modric was fouled, firing a 25-yard free-kick straight through the porous defensive wall.

    Wolfsburg now needed a goal and responded accordingly, committing more men forward in attack but also leaving opportunities for the hosts to counter, with Karim Benzema and substitute Jese Rodriguez both forcing a fine saves from Benaglio.

    The visitors’ cause was hardly helped by the fact that they had lost two of their key attacking players, Henrique and Julian Draxler, through injury and there were no late scares as Madrid squeezed into the last four.

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