ROME — Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 12th Champions League goal of the season with a superb strike into the top corner as Real Madrid took a firm grip on its last-16 tie against AS Roma with a 2-0 first leg win Wednesday.
The record 10-time European champion took the game to Roma, but was frustrated in the first half as the host kept men behind the ball, while looking to catch Real out on the break.
Ronaldo, however, ended its resistance just before the hour mark. He audaciously controlled a fine pass from Marcelo on the left edge of the box, before unleashing a powerful, curling shot that deflected off Alessandro Florenzi and looped over keeper Wojciech Szczesny into the net. The emphatic finish sparked a joyous celebration from the Portuguese who raced across to embrace coach Zinedine Zidane.
“It was a great match by him and the rest (of the team),” Zidane told beIN Sports. “I’m happy (about the celebration) but above all because he scored,” added the Frenchman, who was a Champions League winner with Real as a player in 2002 but was making his competition debut as coach.
Substitute Jese added the Spanish team’s second four minutes from fulltime with a solo run into the box and shot across the face of goal that flew inside the far post.
Two minutes earlier, Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas came out sharply to save at the feet of Stephan El Shaarawy after one of Roma’s fast and dangerous counter-attacks.
Ronaldo might have had a second goal a quarter of an hour from the end but his header at the far post was just wide from James Rodriguez’s superb cross.
Karim Benzema then saw his goalbound shot from another James cross hit Lucas Digne in the head.
At the other end, Roma substitute Edin Dzeko hit the side-netting with a header and Real was relieved when the home side was not awarded a penalty after a tackle by Dani Carvajal on Florenzi.
Real did not have a single shot on target in the first half, but twice had Raphael Varane to thank for coming to their rescue, as the center back superbly intercepted a ball from Mohamed Salah to Diego Perotti, before blocking a shot by El Shaarawy.
Zidane remains unbeaten since he took over from the sacked Rafa Benitez early last month and the coach was given enthusiastic backing from Real defender Sergio Ramos.
In Brussels, Julian Draxler scored twice as VfL Wolfsburg took a big step toward reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League with a 3-2 victory over Gent in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Draxler, who joined from Schalke 04 at the start of the season, struck in the 44th minute after a classy dribble past midfielder Thomas Foket and a quick one-two with Vierinha before tucking the ball past the keeper.
Gent started the second half much improved, pushing for an equalizer, but Draxler netted again in the 54th minute as he capitalized on one of many errant passes by the Gent defense.
Max Kruse then made it 3-0 and also came close to adding a fourth goal before the home team rallied with two strikes in the last 10 minutes from Sven Kums and Kalifa Coulibaly.
