UEFA Champions League: Manchester City reach quarters, Ronaldo brace in vain as Juventus, Real Madrid exit

Eliminating the record 13-time champion has Manchester City players believing they can deliver the team’s first Champions League title. (Source: Reuters)

Real Madrid’s defensive mistakes by Raphael Varane were seized on by Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus to lead City into a quarterfinal against Lyon. (Source: AP)

They clinched another 2-1 victory against Madrid on Friday after winning by the same score in the first leg in the Spanish capital in February before the competition was paused due to the pandemic. Real began to make its presence felt and equalised through Karim Benzema, who headed in powerfully from Rodrygo’s cross in the 28th minute. (Source: Reuters)

Varane failed to cut out a long ball forward and then made an ineffective attempt to head back to Courtois. Gabriel Jesus closed in quickly and dinked the ball over Courtois. (Source: Reuters)

The newly crowned Spanish champions were eliminated from a Champions League knockout round for the first time under Zinedine Zidane. He led Madrid to three consecutive titles from 2016 to 2018, resigned after delivering the 13th title but returned as coach in March 2019. (Source: Reuters)

Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals in Friday’s other quarterfinal but Juve’s 2-1 victory over Lyon wasn’t enough to avoid elimination. Memphis Depay’s penalty allowed the French side to advance 2-2 on away goals after winning the first leg in February 1-0. (Source: AP)

Lyon’s quarterfinal against City will be played in the stadium of Lisbon club Sporting. The seven games in the Portuguese capital, including the final at Benfica on Aug. 23, will be played without fans due to pandemic restrictions. (Source: AP)