Defending European Champions, Real Madrid booked their spot in the last eight of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League on Tuesday as they beat Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 2-1 at the Parc des Princes.
Cristiano Ronaldo put Real’s tie with PSG to bed when he netted a powerful header in the 51st minute to keep his extraordinary run in the Champions League going.
Things then went from bad to worse for PSG in front of their home fans as Marco Verratti was sent off after receiving a needless second yellow card for dissent.
Edinson Cavani’s fortunate goal from close range with 19 minutes remaining gave PSG a sniff of a chance.
But a heavily deflected strike from Casemiro in the 80th minute put Real into a 2-1 lead and ended any possibility of a comeback.
The victory saw Real continue a remarkable run of form in the Champions League, while PSG’s early exit once again highlighted their inability to make a genuine splash on the European stage.
Meanwhile, Liverpool enjoyed the easiest of nights against Porto at Anfield, playing out a 0-0 draw to reach the last eight for the first time since 2009.
That was because the Reds had mauled the Portuguese giants 5-0 in the first leg.
Jurgen Klopp did not make wholesale changes to his side—although Mo Salah did start on the bench—but Liverpool’s German manager could likely have fielded a complete reserve team and not had a huge amount to worry about.
Porto showed little ambition in attack and largely restricted Liverpool to tame efforts on goal.
Danny Ings did have a fine chance to snatch a win late on, but his effort was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Iker Casillas in potentially his final Champions League game, per Squawka:
Given the results of the respective first legs, it was widely expected Liverpool and Real would be the first sides to book their spots in the quarter-finals this season.
They both produced professional performances to do just that and can now enjoy watching the remaining last-16 clashes play out.
Here are the results in full:
Liverpool 0-0 Porto (Liverpool advance 5-0 on aggregate)
Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Real Madrid (Real advance 5-2 on aggregate)
Additional Report by BleacherReport
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