Real 3-0 Wolfsburg (Agg: 3-2)

Cristiano Ronaldo bent his knees in time to the clapping that rang round the Santiago Bernabéu, took a deep breath, shoulders heaving, and began his run-up, hitting the ball past the wall and into the net to complete his hat-trick and carry Real Madrid through to the Champions League semi-finals. There were 15 minutes to go and nervous moments ahead but his 13th, 14th and 15th goals in this season’s competition were enough to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.

As the ball hit the net, Ronaldo raced to the corner. It was not over yet but Madrid were close now and for the first time in over two-and-a-half hours of football, they were in front on aggregate. Wolfsburg could not find the away goal that would change everything – nor could Madrid end the nerves until the final whistle went, Karim Benzema and Jesé both forcing saves but, ultimately, Ronaldo’s goal won it.

Few had expected it to take so long when they had opened the scoring after quarter of an hour, still less when they had doubled that lead, but here at last they were.

Zidane was preaching patience, insisting that those talking up an epic night were mistaken, while Luka Modric had warned: “We have to have a cool head, be patient and play football. We’re not going to settle this in five minutes.” No, but they did draw level in two. Twice Dani Carvajal ran at Wolfsburg and twice Cristiano Ronaldo scored – and only 86 seconds had gone by between the two goals.

First, Carvajal was alert to a horribly loose pass, dashing forward on the right and sending a low ball across the area, which deflected off Ricardo Rodríguez and reached Ronaldo at the far post. He grabbed the ball from the net and raced back to the centre; if he was ready to begin again, so was Caravjal. Another delivery seeking Ronaldo resulted in a corner from which the Portuguese headed in.

Wolfsburg’s plan was in pieces, although ditching it may well have been beneficial to them. For a moment they appeared fearful and things appeared to become worse when Julian Draxler was forced off. The difference between the two teams seemed so great that the only doubt was how Madrid ever found themselves in this mess in the first place. Yet Wolfsburg did now take a step up to play a game they had previously hoped to see pass by.

Josuha Guilavogui’s long shot drew an easy save from Keylor Navas before the goalkeeper was forced to make a far sharper stop from Luiz Gustavo’s 25-yard effort. Soon after that, Bruno Henrique wasted a wonderful chance to tilt the balance Wolfsburg’s way once more, when a quick free-kick led to André Schürrle pulling the ball across the six-yard box. Bruno Henrique could have hit it first time but instead tried to control it, only to lose control, turning in on himself, almost tripping over the ball and allowing Sergio Ramos to block.

Next it was Carvajal blocking when a deep cross reached Schürrle at the far post, although the half ended with an opportunity falling to Benzema at the other end. So here they were, starting over again; a 45-minute ‘match’ for a place in the semi-final.

The risk for Real of course lay in the value given to any goals Wolfsburg could score. They needed a third but tranquillity would only really come with a fourth and the later it got, the finer the margins would become.

Schürrle curled over, Ronaldo had a deflected free-kick fly wide and Guilavogui almost scored an own goal before Madrid thought they had the third on 65 minutes when Sergio Ramos leapt to head a corner. As the ball had swung into the area, Diego Benaglio had slipped slightly. Almost on his knees, he watched the ball hit the post, run along the line and, as the goalkeeper reached out a hand to it, somehow come to a stop between his legs.

At the other end, Vieirinha cut inside and shot wide before Dante might have done better from close range off a corner, Navas stopping the ball on the line. Every chance was a collective coronary now.

Then with 15 minutes to go, Luka Modric was brought down and Ronaldo stood over the ball, the defensive wall and a semi-final place opening up before him. Guardian Service