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MOTD: A.S. Roma 0-2 Real Madrid

By on February 17, 2016

Scoring the opening goal in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Roma in the Champions League Round of 16 must have been especially sweet for Cristiano Ronaldo.  Just a day after he walked out of a confrontational press conference (over his relationship with his teammates and away goalscoring record), he spearheaded Madrid’s win in Rome with his first goal away from home, in a fashion only he could achieve.  It was his twelfth goal of Madrid’s Champions League campaign so far, but by far the most important.

The Portugal International’s fifty-seventh minute strike opened up the game after a tight first half, in which they failed to achieve a shot on target for the first time in a Champions League match since 2011.  Yet Madrid overcame their static opening and dominated the second period, sealing a successful beginning to Zinedine Zidane’s auspicious managerial career in the competition.

Zidane signaled his intent to make clean work of this away game by starting their big guns, Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and James Rodriquez up top (Gareth Bale was left in Madrid due to injury). Marcelo was also incisive up front, bombing down the left wing.  He came closest in the first-half, striking a fifteen yard, dipping volley just wide of the post in the thirty-sixth minute.

Roma threatened briefly on the break, with Keylor Navas quick off his line to snuff out Stephan El Shaarawy’s break away early in the second half, but Real had the lion’s share of possession.  Edin Dzeko also hit the side-netting, but Ronaldo was the first to find the back of the net.  He chopped the ball across his body and into the middle from the left wing, before arrowing a driven effort towards goal.  The ball took a wicked defected off of Alessandro Florenzi and looped into the top corner of the net.

Ronaldo nearly found another goal fifteen minutes from time, but couldn’t direct James Rodriguez’s arching far-post cross on frame.

Jesé put the game to bed with a late second goal off of the bench, dragging a low effort into the bottom left corner of the net at the end of a long, mazing solo run.  The result gives Ronaldo the bragging rights and Real a nearly insurmountable advantage heading into the opposite leg at the Bernabeu in three weeks.

Homepage photo credit: Hank Loner, via Flickr

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.