Cristiano Ronaldo equals record as Real Madrid cruise past Borussia Dortmund
Spaniards avenge last year's defeat in style
Real Madrid closed in on the Champions League semi-finals with an emphatic 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday as the nine-times winners avenged last season’s humiliating loss to the Bundesliga side in style.
Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the record for most goals in the tournament in one season with his 14th and Gareth Bale and Isco also scored in the quarter-final first leg as Real steamrollered the team who beat them 4-1 in Dortmund in the first leg of last term’s semi-final before going through 4-3 on aggregate.
Chasing the record-extending 10th continental crown which has eluded them since their last triumph in 2002, Real dominated an injury-hit Dortmund side who were also missing suspended striker Robert Lewandowski.
The Poland international, who scored all four goals against Real in last year’s semi-final first leg, should be back for the return on Tuesday but Juergen Klopp’s side must pull off something close to mission impossible to turn the tie around.
“I am very pleased with the match and the result,” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference before warning that Dortmund, who squandered several chances in the second period, remained a threat.