Real Madrid 1 AS Roma 2 Roma win 4-2 on aggregateAS ROMA SNATCHED a 2-1 win over 10-man Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last night to clinch their place in the Champions League quarter-finals 4-2 on aggregate.
Real took the initiative for most of the game, but suffered a major setback when centre back Pepe was sent off for a second yellow card 19 minutes from time.
They were still reeling from the blow when Brazilian midfielder Taddei found space to head the visitors in front.
Real hit back two minutes later when captain Raul steered in after some neat work by Robinho but Roma killed off the tie when substitute Mirko Vucinic scored with a diving header just before the final whistle.
Having lost 2-1 in the first leg in Rome, Real pushed hard for an early goal, but a cagey Roma side appeared content to sit back and soak up the pressure.
Roma goalkeeper Doni was not pressed into action until the 17th minute when he did well to deal with a deflected Julio Baptista free-kick, but the Italians responded with two great shots that gave the Bernabeu a warning of what was to come.
Midfielder Alberto Aquilani sent a rasping drive slamming on to the bar from 20 metres out and Taddei followed up with another fierce shot that had Iker Casillas scrambling to turn past the post.
Without the injured Ruud van Nistelrooy, Real lacked bite up front and grew increasingly frustrated. The Italian side, in contrast, looked more and more confident as they clipped the ball neatly around the midfield and broke quickly into attack.
Real threatened once more at the start of the second half, Baptista smacking a dipping free-kick against the bar and Mahamadou Diarra testing Doni with a powerful drive.
Once again, however, it was Roma who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Vucinic rattled the bar with a thundering drive less than a minute after coming on.
Real lost their cool when Pepe was sent off after picking up a second booking for a foul on Vucinic and Taddei took advantage of the confusion in defence to head home two minutes later.
Raul hit back almost immediately, sweeping low past Doni after a neat through pass from Robinho but Roma dealt the definitive blow when Vucinic threw himself at a Christian Panucci free-kick and headed in past Casillas.
Meanwhile, a Lisandro Lopez goal with four minutes of normal time remaining brought parity between FC Porto and Schalke 04 to bring the tie to extra-time at Estadio do Dragao last night.
Despite earlier having Jorge Ciro Fucile sent off, the Portuguese side kept the Germans at bay but goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved two spot-kicks for Schalke for a 4-1 win on penalties to see his side into the quarter-finals for the first time.
