Cristiano Ronaldo maintained his record of scoring in every Champions League game this season as Real Madrid eased into the last eight with a 5-2 aggregate win against Paris Saint-Germain.
Ronaldo’s second-half header and a deflected strike from Casemiro either side of a Edinson Cavani goal, were enough to keep the holders on track for a third trophy in a row.
Madrid seized the advantage in the tie with two late goals in their 3-1 first-leg win and they managed the clash at Parc des Princes in a professional fashion, as PSG – without the injured Neymar – struggled for inspiration in the attacking third.
Zinedine Zidane somewhat surprisingly started Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez on the wings and the two combined to set up Ronaldo for the killer goal in the second half, as the Portugal star kept up his run of scoring in every game in this season’s competition.
Verratti’s dismissal ended any lingering hope of a comeback for PSG, with Casemiro sealing the win after Cavani’s equaliser. This means that their wait for a European crown goes on and the pressure on head coach Unai Emery grows after a second consecutive last-16 exit.
There was a scrappy start to the match – which began after a minute’s applause in memory of former Fiorentina captain Davide Astori – with Sergio Ramos seeing a first half-chance well saved by Alphonse Areola following a corner.
Madrid began to look a threat every time they broke forward, with PSG lacking any real attacking quality in a nervy first half, and Areola had to race off his line smartly to save at the feet of Karim Benzema, making his 100th appearance in the competition.
That close call seemed to spur PSG into life and Keylor Navas had to be alert to deny Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappe, as Zidane made his frustration with Madrid’s defending very clear on the touchline.
PSG turned up the pressure early in the second half, as fans lit flares in vast numbers in a bid to breathe life into the team, but Ronaldo doused any hope of a comeback 51 minutes in.
Asensio raced down the left wing, turned infield and slipped a brilliant through ball to Vazquez, whose clipped cross was headed down and into the net by Ronaldo at the far post.
Verratti’s foolish remonstrations with referee Felix Brych earned him a second yellow card 15 minutes later, but Cavani at least gave the boisterous PSG fans something to cheer about when Javier Pastore’s diving header rebounded off Casemiro and then the Uruguay striker before nestling into the net.
Benzema and Ronaldo each came close as space began to open up in the home side’s defence, but it was Casemiro who brought an end to PSG’s 100% winning record at home this season, intercepting Adrien Rabiot’s poor clearance before seeing his shot deflect over Areola and into the net with 10 minutes remaining.
