Two second half goals in four minutes from Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez were enough for Real Madrid to ease into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League with a 4-0 aggregate victory over Roma.
Already leading 2-0 after the first leg in Rome, Real Madrid were in control of this tie heading to the Bernabeu, but Roma gave the home team a tense hour, by really going for it.
With nothing to lose, Roma carved out plenty of chances in the first half, but that net would just not bulge for the Italians. And Ronaldo made the Serie A side pay for their missed chances, scoring the decisive goal in the 64th minute.
Lucas Vazquez crossed from the right for Ronaldo to turn in at the near post and make it 3-0 on aggregate. It was 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate on 68 minutes as Ronaldo turned provider for Rodriguez to provide a finish and with it deflate Roma and end their gallant fightback attempt.
"It was a difficult game but in the end we achieved our objective, which was to go through," Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane told UEFA's official website after the game. "And we didn't concede a goal.
"Over the 90 minutes a lot of things could have happened because we were up against a team with good, fast footballers. But we got the job done."
Roma will look back at this second leg and wonder how they failed to give Real Madrid a bit more of a fright, with Mohamed Salah missing the best chance for the away side. Luciano Spalletti, in the end, admitted finishing and ability to handle the pressure on the big stage was the difference between the two teams.
"The reality is that we lost 2-0 twice, it's only right that Real Madrid go through," Spalletti said. "We've got to improve in terms of our mentality and how clinical we are. We weren't at the level we had to be [in front of goal]. The regret isn't to have lost, but to have not played the game with the right conviction.
"We didn't play badly in either leg, but we didn't take advantage of the chances we created. Right now on a mental level perhaps we are a bit fragile. It's a big game, big games make you nervous and we have to change this. We needed to be more aggressive, communicate more and show more confidence."
