Real madrid qualify to semi final Uefa champions league

Real Madrid were made to sweat in
Istanbul but held
on for a 3-2
defeat away to Galatasaray, a result which
nevertheless
assured their
passage into the
last four of the Champions League with a 5-3
victory on aggregate. The Spanish side looked set to
cruise through when Cristiano
Ronaldo opened up a four-goal
aggregate lead in the opening
minutes, but a timid response by
the visitors encouraged the Turkish giants to chase the
impossible, which they almost
achieved as Emmanuel Eboue,
Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba
hit in the second half. Ronaldo
finally ended their hopes with a late goal that sealed victory. Virtually assured of a place in the
Champions League semi-finals
thanks to a dominant 3-0 win in
the Santiago Bernabeu, Real
Madrid nevertheless began the
second leg in belligerent fashion, pushing forward immediately in
search of a goal. Angel Di Maria was almost the
man to provide it in the first
minute of play, picking up a loose
ball after Fernando Muslera's
rushed clearance outside the
area. The Argentine went for the net, but with Galatasaray
defenders scampering back he
saw the effort fall just the wrong
side of the post. Away fans, however, did not have
to wait long, as after just seven
minutes of play the Merengue got
the strike that would surely put
the tie beyond the faintest of
doubts. An overlapping Sami Khedira streaked past on the
right-hand side, and put a teasing
ball into the middle. As the Turkish
backline failed to react, Cristiano Ronaldo was on hand to tap home, recording his 49th
Champions League goal and
drawing level with the legendary
Alfredo Di Stefano in the historical
charts. Despite that early blow,
Galatasaray held their heads high,
dominating possession against
Jose Mourinho's men and
attempting to match their rivals.
Didier Drogba was the target of much of the Turks' attacking play,
but was let down by poor service
and his own fading reflexes, and
struggled to make an impact.
Madrid sat back and were
content to allow their opponents to do the running, while on the
counter-attack they remained a
frightening force. This potency on the break was
demonstrated when Di Maria went
within a hair's breadth of adding
a second. The midfielder latched
to a wonderful flick from Ronaldo
to break free on the left, and looked destined to put his name
on the board. He did not count on
the heroics of Muslera, however.
The goalkeeper pulled off a
breathtaking fingertip save to
keep Angel out, and ensure that the gap would not widen as the
two sides went in for the break. The Turkish side continued their
unlikely pursuit in the second half,
and were rewarded with their
first goal of the tie 57 minutes in
- and it was one worth waiting
for. A speculative ball across the Madrid area was not picked up by
anyone, which allowedEmmanuel Eboue to meet it just on the edge
of the area. The right-back had
been disappointing during the
opening hour, but atoned with a
stunning power shot which left
Lopez no chance to save, and put Galatasaray on the board.