Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner as Real Madrid beat 10-man Manchester United 2-1 Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League 3-2 on aggregate after a pulsating match which turned on the controversial dismissal of Nani just before the hour mark.
United had just gone ahead on the night through a Sergio Ramos own goal when the Portugal midfielder attempted to control a high clearance from his defense.
But Nani’s foot was high and his studs caught Real’s Alvaro Arbeloa in his midriff as he moved forward to intercept the ball.
Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakır then stunned the Old Trafford by showing a red card to Nani as he recovered from the collision.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson charged down from his touchline seat to protest and as Nani eventually parted the field he was given a consolation pat by Real manager Jose Mourinho.
It was the cue for Real, who had offered little in attack until then, to press forward and the man advantage soon paid in the 66th minute.
Substitute Luka Modric found space outside the penalty box to unleash a curling and unstoppable shot past David de Gea, the highlight for sure of the Croatian’s stuttering progress with the Madrid giants since his summer signing.
Two minutes later and United’s worst nightmare was complete as old boy Ronaldo, relatively quiet until then, connected with Gonzalo Higuain’s clever cross to score at the far post.
Ronaldo pointedly did not celebrate but his goal was decisive, meaning United had to score two more to progress.
They made a brave fist of it, Real goalkeeper Diego Lopez having to produce fine saves from Michael Carrick, Robin van Persie and Nemanja Vidic.
Wayne Rooney, surprisingly left out of the United starting line up, also hooked a chance over, but at the other end fellow substitute Kaka rattled the home woodwork.
At the end it was Real who were celebrating but Mourinho showed some surprising modesty in victory.
“The best team lost, independent of the sending off,” he told ITV Sport. “We didn’t deserve to win and didn’t play well.”
Ferguson refused to attend the post-game press conference, because he had been left “very distraught” by Nani’s dismissal, according to his assistant Mike Phelan.
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