Real Madrid have kept its hopes alive of a record 11th European crown after Javier Hernandez’s late goal against a 10-man Atletico Madrid secured a place in the Champions League semi-finals.
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After the first leg ended in a 0-0 stalemate, the return match looked headed for extra time before some excellent work by James Rodriguez played through Cristiano Ronaldo with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
The Portugal international squared the ball across to Hernandez who finished past Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak to send the Bernabeu into raptures.
The Mexican’s goal caused heartbreak for Atletico, who’d matched their city rivals for most of the two-legged playoff.
Atletico star Arda Turan made things difficult for his side after he was sent off for a second bookable offence with 14 minutes remaining in normal time, before Hernandez landed the killer blow.
Real Madrid went into the match without the star trio of Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, forcing coach Carlo Ancelotti to play Sergio Ramos in a somewhat unfamiliar defensive midfield role.
The home side almost went ahead in a tense first half after Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kick forced an excellent save from the impressive Oblak.
Arda Turan left the pitch distraught following his send-off and was forced to feel the brunt of the intimidating Bernabeu crowd.
The last-gasp win caused major celebrations from both players and fans, with Real now facing either Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Juventus in the semi-finals.
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