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UCL Rewind: Real Madrid, Manchester City book spots in quarterfinals

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Two additional European clubs booked their places in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday with Real Madrid and Manchester City both cruising to second leg wins.

After a cinderella run to the quarterfinals last season, Atalanta came into the second leg match against Los Blancos needing at least two goals to force an upset, but Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos had other ideas.

Benzema gave Real Madrid a 2-0 aggregate advantage in the 34th minute after a misplaced place pass from Atalanta keeper Marco Sportiello was intercepted by Luka Modric who found Benzema for the tap-in.

On the eve of half-time Atalanta’s Luis Muriel was clear on goal, but the referee blew the whistle with no stoppage time added to end the first half.

In the 60th minute, Vinicius was fouled in the box and Ramos was able to convert from the spot to put Los Blancos up 2-0 on the night.

Atalanta was able to get one back in the 83rd minute from a lovely free kick from Luis Muriel, but Marco Asensio answered back one minute later to put the match out of reach.

With the victory Real Madrid have buried its recent Champions League failures, having now reached the quarterfinals for the first time in the past three seasons.

Manchester City maintain its dominance

Arguably the most inform team on the planet, Manchester City maintained its dominance in a 2-0 second leg victory over Bundesliga strugglers Borussia Mönchengladbach and advanced to the UCL quarterfinals by a 4-0 aggregate scoreline.

For Gladbach, it came into the match as heavy underdogs, enduring a a torrid run of form since its manager Marco Rose announced he would be departing at the end of the season to manage Borussia Dortmund.

Kevin De Bruyne gave Man City an early lead with a left-footed rocket from outside the box that deflected off the crossbar before ending up in the back of the net.

Ilkay Gundogan doubled the first-half lead for Pep Guardiola’s side, tapping in a perfectly weighted pass from Phil Foden to give the Citizens a comfortable 2-0 lead that would end up being the final scoreline.

Ederson made three saves to preserve the clean sheet for the Citizens, who now will expect a much-tougher opponent in the quarterfinals.

The final two UCL Round of 16 second legs take place on Wednesday with Bayern Munich hosting Lazio and Chelsea welcoming Atletico Madrid to London. Bayern holds a 4-1 aggregate lead while Chelsea maintains a slim 1-0 advantage from the first leg.

 

 

 

 

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