Do not concede and score at least three goals will be the Real Madrid mantra Tuesday when they host Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid are staring at an exit, after going down 2-0 to the German side in the first leg.
Some poor defending and even more uninspired forward play meant that Real Madrid left Germany with absolutely nothing. In a tie in which they were expected to cruise, Real Madrid now find themselves with a mountain the size of Everest to climb, and the one man they will look to, to bail them out of trouble, will naturally be Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored goals in chunks in this season's Champions League, rather than finding the target consistently.
Watch the highlights of the match HERE
Ronaldo believes the fans at the Bernabeu will play a big role in helping Real Madrid come through against Wolfsburg. "We can win by playing well, with 11 players on the pitch, more players on the bench and the 80,000 people I would love to see fill the stadium supporting the team, because this will give us a tremendous boost," Ronaldo told the club's official website.
Read what Ronaldo had to say after the hat-trick HERE
"I hope that it will be a magical night and I am very excited. The team are confident, the coach has faith and the fans must also have faith. Tuesday has to be a magical night."
The key for Real Madrid in this tie will be not to panic if a goal does not come early on, and then concede at the other end as they go all-out for the first goal. If Real Madrid end up conceding even a single goal to Wolfsburg in this Champions League quarterfinal second leg, the home team will then have to score at least four to make it through.
While that is certainly possible, considering Real's attacking strength – and the "BBC" will return, with Karim Benzema recovering from the knock to lineup alongside Gareth Bale and Ronaldo – they would much rather keep a clean sheet and do the minimum required up front.
"The players know the game that we have to play," Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said. "We're 2-0 down, we have to score, but there's 90 minutes or more to do that. The message is to be patient. In La Liga we were 13 points behind Barcelona, now it's four. Everything happens in football."
Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking will also be quite aware of that, and the one thing he will want his players to avoid doing is give Real Madrid the early momentum. Because if they do that, Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale and the rest could run riot.
"I think we can do our bit," Hecking was quoted as saying by UEFA's official website. "Real Madrid have to use their legend to beat us at their stadium, but they'll have to work very hard. We know what Real Madrid stand for but we also deserve some respect after the first leg.
"We don't care that there will be 80,000 fans supporting Real Madrid, we're here to play football. We surprised them in the first leg but this time it will be more difficult. Madrid will try to score as soon as possible."
Where to Watch Live
The Champions League second leg quarterfinal -- Real Madrid vs Wolfsburg -- is scheduled for an 8.45 pm CET (7.45 pm GMT, 2.45 pm ET, 12.15 am IST) start. Ten 1 will broadcast the Champions League match live in India on TV. Viewers in India and the subcontinent can also watch the match live online by live streaming on Tensports Live.
BT Sport 2 is the channel to watch to catch the match live in the UK, with the online live streaming option on Watch BT Sport.
Antena 3 and TV 3 will broadcast the Champions League match live in Spain. Viewers in Germany can watch Real Madrid vs Wolfsburg live on Sky Sports 1 HD, while the live stream option is on Sky Go Germany.
Fox Sports 2 will show the UCL game live in the US, while the quarterfinal second leg can also be live streamed online on FoxSoccer2Go.
Audience in Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, France, Spain, Canada, the Middle East and North Africa can watch the game live on TV on Bein Sports, with the live stream option on Bein Sports Connect. Viewers in China can watch the UEFA Champions League action live on PPTV Sports and LeTV.