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| Real Madrid vs Tottenham |
Two goals from on-loan striker Adebayor and two further goals from Angel Di Maria and Ronaldo apiece saw Real all but secure their passage into the semis after Spurs had Peter Crouch sent-off early for two bookable offences.
Adebayor scored his first off a corner in as early as the fourth minute before Crouch was sent off in the 15 minute for a needless foul on Marcelo while already on a yellow card. It led to some intensive periods of pressure from Madrid and it paid off 10 minutes into the second half when a quickly taken corner saw Adebayor grab his second with a well directed header. That opened the flood gates and Spurs found themselves restricted to barely seconds of possession. Real surged forward in a more relaxed manner and in the 72nd minute, Di Maria cut in from the right to smash into the top-left corner with a powerful, swerving left-footed strike. With three minutes to go, Ronaldo rubbed salt into Spurs' wounds when he hit a low, first time volley from inside the box and saw it creep beneath Gomes and into goal.
It was a thoroughly deserved win for Madrid and it is highly doubtful whether Spurs could have stopped the determined Spaniards even with eleven men. They face a huge task if they are to maintain their European run in the second leg on April 13.
Sources: http://www.ibtimes.com
