A hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo secured a historic comeback for Real Madrid as their 3-0 over Wolfsburg secured their passage into the last four of the Champions League. 

Madrid came flying out of the traps as Sergio Ramos rocked the crossbar in the first ten minutes before two goals in quick succession from Ronaldo brought Madrid right back into the tie. Luiz Gustavo and Bruno Henrique Pinto had good chances as the half drew to a close but couldn't give their team the slight advantage. 

It was a slow second half overall with Luka Modric and Ramos having half-chances but a third goal from Ronaldo 15 minutes from the end rounded off a historic comeback and a passage into the semi-final for Madrid. 

Above: Cristiano Ronaldo strikes home his first goal of three during Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Wolfsburg | Reuters
Above: Cristiano Ronaldo strikes home his first goal of three during Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Wolfsburg | Reuters

Cometh the hour, cometh the man 

It was a huge night in Santiago Bernabeu as Madrid knew that they had to show up if they were to keep their ambitions of a 11th European trophy alive and set the agenda with Ramos skimming the crossbar in the seventh minute. 

Ronaldo has been criticised by many of the Madrid faithful somewhat unfairly throughout the season but when his side needed him most he delivered with a quick fire brace. 

The first came in he 15th minute as Dani Carvajal did brilliantly with his second bite of the cherry as his deflected cross couldn't be dealt with by either Naldo and Dante which allowed an unmarked Ronaldo to finish with ease. 

He was denied a second moments later with a great defensive header from Vieirinha but he could do nothing to stop the Portuguese forward leveling the tie from the resulting corner. 

It was a simple cross into the area from Toni Kroos which was flicked on by Ronaldo who took advantage of the German side failing to mark the far post as it bounced beyond Diego Benaglio and into the net. 

Knocking on the door 

The two goals in quick succession initially rocked Dieter Hecking's side but as the half drew on, Wolfsburg had two good chances to get their noses in front. 

The first came from Gustavo as the midfielder who hasn't scored since the DFB Cup final victory over Borussia Dortmund last May tried from distance and swerved almost caught out Keylor Navas but he did well to beat it away. 

The better opportunity of the two came in the 37th minute as Andre Schurrle did brilliantly to pull it back for Henrique but his footwork let him down as the combination of Pepe and Ramos smothered the golden opportunity. 

Bubbling under 

The beginning of the second period was a complete contrast to the first with both sides proving cautious but Madrid still had the better chances and two great opportunities just the hour mark. 

Modric almost caught out Benaglio on the hour mark as his cross took a wicked deflection from Joshua Guilavogui but the Swiss international does brilliantly to keep it out. 

They came even closer five minutes later as Ramos' header from the corner in clattered the post and looked to be crawling over the line but Benaglio somehow managed to hold on despite the goal protests from Zinedine Zidane's side. 

Above: Cristiano Ronaldo completes his hat-trick in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Wolfsburg | Reuters
Above: Cristiano Ronaldo completes his hat-trick in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Wolfsburg | Reuters

Rightful passage 

Madrid continued to push for the all important third goal as the contest entered the final 15 minutes and it was Ronaldo once again who stepped up to round off the tie in style. 

A free-kick in a dangerous area always looked within his territory and he was helped out the Wolfsburg defensive wall as Naldo's turn allowed Ronaldo to strike through the gap and left Benaglio with no chance of getting across. 

Madrid pushed for more in the final ten minutes as Benzema cut inside looking for a fourth but his curled effort was pushed away by the Swiss. 

He did even better with the last attempt on his goal as substitute Jese managed to cut inside and the deflection from Vieirinha looked to have looped the keeper but he did well to claw it away but Madrid had done just enough to go through. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.