Ronaldo magic fires Real Madrid past Juventus

TURIN, Italy: Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in 10 successive Champions League games as he struck twice for holders Real Madrid in a 3-0 win at Juventus in Tuesday’s quarter-final first leg.Ronaldo grabbed the opening goal here after just three minutes and added a second on the hour with a sensational overhead bicycle kick, taking him to 14 goals in this season’s competition.Juventus forward Paulo Dybala was sent off on 66 minutes before Ronaldo set up Marcelo to cap the rout and leave Real in complete control of the tie going into the second leg in Madrid on April 11.The 33-year-old Portugal star had shared the previous goalscoring record with former Manchester United team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy, who found the net in nine consecutive matches between 2002 and 2003.“You can say he’s one of the most beautiful players in the history of football,” said Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.“This 3-0 is really hard to digest,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, who has guided the club to the final twice in the past three seasons. Zidane opted for the same line-up as last year’s final when the Spaniards crushed Juventus 4-1 to claim a record 12th European title, with Isco preferred to Gareth Bale.Some dreadful defending from Juventus early gave Isco the space on the left flank to supply Ronaldo for the opener, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon helpless to stop the Portuguese’s expert flick.Mattia De Sciglio sent a shot flashing across goal on 34 minutes that just evaded the sliding Gonzalo Higuain, who was then denied by a stunning reflex save from Keylor Navas after getting on the end of a Dybala free-kick.Real looked set to score again when Toni Kroos latched onto a loose ball, his blistering long-range effort rattling the crossbar.The Spanish giants will be without captain Ramos next week after the centre-back was booked for a foul on Dybala, whose resulting free-kick was deflected just wide.But Real doubled their lead when confusion in the Juve defence allowed Ronaldo to keep alive an attack, Dani Carvajal crossing back into the area where Ronaldo connected with an outrageous bicycle kick, a strike that earned the applause of the home crowd.Just a minute later, Dybala received his second yellow card for a raised boot on Carvajal, and with a man down there was no stopping Real as Marcelo put a third past Buffon from a Ronaldo assist.Mateo Kovacic almost added a fourth when he hit the crossbar, with Buffon stopping a further Ronaldo effort and the Portuguese missing another chance late.Meanwhile, Bayern Munich placed one foot in the last four of the Champions League as Thiago Alcantara’s header gave them a 2-1 win away to Sevilla in the first leg of their quarter-final in Spain.Sevilla had knocked out Manchester United in the last 16 and another shock looked on the cards when Pablo Sarabia struck from close range in the first half at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. But Bayern’s nous, and a little luck, proved decisive, as Jesus Navas diverted Franck Ribery’s cross into his own net before Thiago headed in a winner, also deflected, in the second half.The result leaves Sevilla with a mountain to climb. The Spanish side will need to score at least twice in next week’s second leg at the Allianz Arena to have any hope of reaching the last four. Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella made a brave call in dropping goalkeeper Sergio Rico and replacing him with David Soria, who had not made a competitive appearance since December 20.Wissam Ben Yedder, whose two goals saw off United in the previous round, also started, along with Guido Pizarro, who replaced the suspended Ever Banega. Heynckes was singing the praises of James Rodriguez in the build-up but the Colombian was a surprise absentee, only coming off the bench when Arturo Vidal suffered an injury in the first half.The home side started the better and should have taken the lead when Ben Yedder’s flick stopped the ball dead for Sarabia eight yards out, but he steered wide of the post. It was a glaring miss but Sarabia made amends just after the half-hour mark, as Sergio Escudero’s cross bounced awkwardly at the back post where Bayern left-back Juan Bernat made a mess of the clearance. Sarabia nipped in to finish.Sevilla’s lead was deserved but they held onto it for no more than six minutes as a rare Bayern attack resulted in a goal, Ribery’s in-swinging cross being diverted in at the near post by Navas. Soria got a hand on it, but could only paw the ball in off the post.Each side went close after the interval as Javi Martinez saved Bayern with a last-ditch slide on Franco Vazquez and then almost scored at the other end, only to be denied by an excellent Soria save.Sevilla’s early momentum, however, had now given way to a spell of controlled Bayern pressure and it was no surprise when the visitors took the lead midway through the second half. Ribery was again the provider, his clipped cross to the back post finding the unmarked Thiago, who headed down and into the net with the aid of a deflection off Escudero.

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