Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue for Real Madrid once again as they crushed Gianluigi Buffon and Juventus’ dreams of being able to have another Champions League final showdown.
The Spanish giants had held a three-goal advantage over their Italian counterparts, however, they had made life hard for themselves in the early stages and almost came to pay.
Zinedine Zidane’s side will now be in the draw for the semi-finals on Friday, where they could meet Liverpool, Bayern Munich or AS Roma, who knocked out Barcelona last night in a similar fashion to what Max Allegri would have hoped for.
Juventus start quickly
The Old Lady started things off in the most perfect of ways possible when Mario Mandzukic had headed the ball past Keylor Navas inside the first two minutes before doubling their lead before the half-time whistle with another fine header.
If it was not for the heroics of the goalkeeper, the La Liga giants could have been behind by more in the first 45 minutes, when he stopped former striker Gonzalo Higuain from finding the net. Madrid had their chance to level the things on the night before the Croatian’s second, however, Isco’s effort was ruled out for offside.
Los Blancos almost managed to get their first on the night before the half-time whistle when Raphael Varane smashed a header onto the crossbar, making it look all the luck was with the Serie A outfit.
Navas turned from hero to villain in the second half when he allowed a meal of a close-range shot, allowing Blaise Matuidi to take advantage and fire the ball into the net levelling the tie on aggregate and sending it towards extra-time.
Controversial ending
Real continued to push for the goal they needed to qualify for the next round and found their chance in the dying moments of the game. Referee Michael Oliver awarded the home side a penalty when Lucas Vazquez was judged to have been pushed in the back.
The decision caused two contrasting reactions from both sides, with Los Blancos elated, whilst the Old Lady were furious with the Englishman’s decision, Buffon more than others.
Buffon sees red
The goalkeeper made his protests about the decision known to Oliver and was shown a straight red card for his efforts and it took a further five minutes to calm down before the penalty kick could be taken.
Ronaldo stepped up as confidently as ever and struck the ball into the top corner to win the match 4-3 on aggregate and ensure their side are still in the semi-final draw to take place at UEFA headquarters on Friday.