Tottenham no match for merciless Madrid
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Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo (L) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against Tottenham Hotspur during the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final soccer match at White Hart Lane in London April 13, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, leading Real Madrid easily past Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 on aggregate to reach the UEFA Champions League semifinals.
Real will fight for a final berth with another Spanish giant Barcelona, who have grabbed a place in last four after knocking off Shakhtar Donetsk 6-1 on aggregate on Tuesday.
Real thrashed Spurs 4-0 in their first leg encounter at the Bernabeu, leaving the Premier League side could only expect a miracle to turn over the table.
Gareth Bale tried again and again to break the left flank, but the Welsh winger failed to inspire an unlikely Spurs comeback.
Roman Pavlyuchenko had Spurs' best opportunity of the first half when Aaron Lennon's superb back pass found him after 26 minutes, but the unmarked Russian fired over bar.
The visitors focused on defence and performed well in holding back the Londoners. However, they did suffer one setback when Ricardo Carvalho was shown a yellow card for a foul on Tom Huddlestone in the 39th minute, which means that the defender has to miss the first leg of the semifinal against Barcelona.
After the break, Ronaldo tested Spurs goalkeeper Gomes with a curled long shot and the Brazalian let the ball slip out of his hand then into the net.
Pavlyuchenko and second-half substitute Jermain Defoe tried hard to pull one back, but Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas had never conceded.
Besides the Champions League semifinals, Real and Barca will also meet in La Liga on Saturday and in the Spanish Cup final next Wednesday.
