Manchester United 1-2 Real
Madrid Agg 2-3): Ronaldo
pounces decisively after
Nani sees red The Spanish giants score
twice in three second half
minutes through Luka Modric
and the former Old Trafford
favourite after a
controversial Nani red card for a foul on Arbeloa
Cristiano Ronaldo came back to haunt 10-man Manchester United as Real Madrid booked their place in the Champions League quarter- final with a dramatic and
controversial 2-1 victory at Old
Trafford. With the tie finely balanced at 1-1
following the first leg in Spain,
United struck first through an
own goal by Sergio Ramos early in
the second half but the game
turned on its head after Nani was sent-off in the 56th minute for a
high boot in a challenge with
Alvaro Arbeloa. Real Madrid used their man
advantage and sealed the
aggregate victory with two goals
in three minutes. Substitute Luka
Modric equalised with a stunning
strike from 25 yards before Ronaldo slid in at the far post to
break the hearts of supporters
who gave him a hero's reception
before kick-off. The result completes a wonderful
week for the Spanish giants
following two wins over bitter
rivals Barcelona and the visiting
fans saluted coach Jose Mourinho
as they target an historic 10th European crown. Ronaldo had a relatively quiet
game on his first return to Old
Trafford since his £80m transfer
in 2009 but the script was always
written for the Portuguese
forward to have the final say. He may not have done so were it
not for referee Cuneyt Cakir,
who infuriated United with his
decision to show a red card to
Nani. The United winger appeared
to be challenging for the ball and certainly meant no harm to
Arbeloa, but the consequence of
his dismissal was that the home
side's gameplan, which had
worked so well to that point, was
ruined. Sir Alex Ferguson made a hugely
bold decision of only naming
Wayne Rooney as a substitute for
United, with Ryan Giggs making his
1000th career appearance in
central midfield in the absence of Phil Jones with an ankle injury.
Nemanja Vidic returned at centre-
back in place of Jonny Evans
after the United captain missed
the first leg. There were no such surprises in
the Real Madrid line-up, with
Gonzalo Higuain selected ahead of
Karim Benzema to lead the attack
as Jose Mourinho returned to his
first choice starting XI having rested a number of players in the
2-1 win over Barcelona on
Saturday. Mourinho claimed this clash
between two of the biggest clubs
in the Europe would 'stop the
world' and stars past and
present were in attendance at
Old Trafford for this showpiece occasion, from Diego Maradona to
Gareth Bale. Ferguson called on the crowd to
'turn up the volume' in his pre-
match programme notes and Old
Trafford was a cauldron of noise
at the teams made their way out
of the tunnel at the Stretford End,  with the home fans unveiling
a mosaic in support of their team.
As the team line-ups were read
out, Ronaldo's name was greeted
with an enormous roar from all
sides of the stadium, the former
United man looking choked as he
patted his chest and raised an arm to acknowledge the
reception. Ferguson predicted an attacking
game but set out to stifle Real
and counter-attack, with his plan
working almost perfectly in the
first half as they restricted the
visitors and came closest to opening the scoring. United captain Vidic thought he
had scored in the 21st minute but
his thumping header from Giggs'
corner rattled against the post
before Danny Welbeck, admittedly
in an offside position, mishit the rebound straight at Real
goalkeeper Diego Lopez. In the 34th minute, Lopez was
again forced in to action as he
made a hash of his attempt to
save Robin van Persie's shot
from a tight angle and had to
react quickly to deflect Welbeck's rebound over the
crossbar with his shoulder. But the hosts had to wait less
than three minutes after the
break to take the lead. After Madrid defenders blocked
two United shots in the penalty
area, the ball landed at Nani's
feet on the left. The Portuguese
winger played the ball into the
box and, after the faintest touch off Welbeck,Ramos could only turn it into his own net. The turning point, however, came
in the 56th minute when Nani was
shown a straight red card by
Turkish referee Cakir for a high
foot in a 50-50 challenge with
Arbeloa. On first viewing, it looked a harsh decision and it certainly
left Ferguson and the United
players fuming with the officials. Mourinho responded to the man
advantage by bringing on Modric
for Arbeloa and the former
Tottenham midfielder levelled the
score in the 66th minute. After
picking the ball up 30 yards from goal,Modric breezed past Tom Cleverley and struck a
thunderous effort in off the post
from 25 yards. Three minutes later, Real Madrid
took the lead for the first time in
the tie. Higuain fizzed a low cross
along the six-yard box and Ronaldo used all of his predatory instincts to slide in at the far
post.