Chelsea ease past Galatasaray, Real thrash Schalke
Thursday, 20 March 2014 00:13
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REUTERS: Chelsea reached the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win against Galatasaray on Tuesday, with Real Madrid joining them in the last eight after thrashing Schalke 04 9-2 over two legs of their last-16 tie.
Chelsea’s clash with Galatasaray was finely balanced after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but the hosts eased the tension around Stamford Bridge when Samuel Eto’o’s deflected shot crept under visiting keeper Fernando Muslera after four minutes.
England defender Gary Cahill doubled Chelsea’s advantage two minutes before halftime, smashing home from close range after Muslera parried John Terry’s powerful header from a corner.
Schalke were playing for pride at Real Madrid, after a humiliating 6-1 home defeat in the first leg, but struggled again to contain the Spanish team’s dynamic forwards.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with his 40th goal of the season, tapping in Gareth Bale’s cross after 21 minutes.
Schalke equalised nine minutes later when right back Tim Hoogland’s shot from distance took a mean deflection off Sergio Ramos and trickled into the corner with Iker Casillas wrong-footed.
A remarkable reflex save from Ralf Faehrmann denied Ronaldo another when his header was kept out after the interval, but he added a second with a typically spectacular low drive after 74 minutes, his 13th in this season’s competition.
The Portugal captain missed the chance to equal Lionel Messi’s record 14-goal tally for one Champions League campaign two minutes later when his shot hit the crossbar.
Yet Bale’s first-time pass from the rebound set up Alvaro Morata to sweep in and complete a miserable exit for Schalke. Chelsea and Real Madrid join Barcelona, Paris St Germain, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.
