Champions League quarter-final first leg games played on Tuesday, saw Cristiano Ronaldo add to his tally as the top scorer in this season’s UEFA Champions League by bagging a spectacular brace to help holders Real Madrid beat Juventus.
Ronaldo and Real laid down a marker by leaving Turin with a 3-0 victory after their quarter-final first leg.
Bayern Munich were also winners on the night, getting by Sevilla 2-1 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. A decisive header from Thiago Alcantara, along with a star turn from Franck Ribery, put Die Roten in a commanding position ahead of next Wednesday’s second leg.
Review
Ronaldo needed just three minutes to plunge Juve into trouble. His close-range finish from Isco’s cross brought up yet another record in this competition for Real’s relentless No. 7.
Things got even better for the holders in the space of two second-half minutes. First, Ronaldo added his second via a gravity-defying overhead kick four minutes after the hour mark.
Juve’s night got worse when forward Paulo Dybala was sent off two minutes later. The Argentina international was shown a second yellow card, having already been booked for diving in the first half.
Playing against 10 men allowed Real to ice things 18 minutes from time courtesy of Marcelo. The raiding left-back combined brilliantly with Isco and Ronaldo before coolly chipping in.
More records were made when Bayern left Sevilla with two precious away goals. Die Roten actually fell behind after Pablo Sarabia put the conquerors of Manchester United in the last round in front.
However, the visitors didn’t crumble and were level five minutes later when Jesus Navas turned into his own net after superb work from Ribery. Bayern’s winner came in the 68th minute when Ribery crossed for Thiago, whose header took a knick off Sergio Escudero on its way in.
Former Barcelona playmaker Thiago has made a habit of scoring when it counts in this tournament.
Tuesday’s Champions League results:
Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid
Sevilla 2-1 Bayern Munich
Additional report by BleacherReport
