Real Madrid Vs Roma

Real Madrid beat Roma with away goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese

The ESPN FC crew analyse Zinedine Zidane's tactics in Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over AS Roma.

Real Madrid beat Roma 2-0 in their Champions League last-16 first leg at the Stadio Olimpico, with away goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese giving them the upper hand.

Ronaldo, who hadn't scored an away goal in any competition since Nov. 29, put Real Madrid up 1-0 in the 57th minute with a curled effort that deflected past Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Real dominated possession in the first half, pinning Roma back in their defensive third for large chunks of the game, but couldn't find a way through. 

Roma did look dangerous on the counter-attack on several occasions, with Mohamed Salah and Stephan El Shaarawy forcing the action when the Italian side broke free of their own half.
Real's best chance of the first half came when Ronaldo flipped the ball to Marcelo in the Roma penalty area, but the Brazilian's curling first-time strike went just wide of the far post.

El Shaarawy nearly put Roma ahead before half-time when he collected a long pass just past midfield and ran at Keylor Navas' goal only to be denied at the last second by a retreating Dani Carvajal.

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the opener in Real Madrid's 2-0 win vs. Roma.

Roma came out the stronger of the two teams after the break, once again finding plenty of space on the counter. Radja Nainggolan's effort from 18 yards was deflected away and El Shaarawy almost got to the ball as Navas came off his line to sweep away.

However, Real Madrid soon got the upper hand as Ronaldo chased down a through ball from Marcelo, cut back and hit a curling effort that beat Wojciech Szczesny after deflecting off Alessandro Florenzi.

The goal was Ronaldo's 33rd in the Champions League on the road over the last six seasons.
A desperate Roma weren't done, though, with Salah's pace continuing to open up opportunities to run at Real Madrid's goal. The Egyptian nearly played substitute Edin Dzeko in with a curling cross after a run down the right flank.

Minutes later, Dzeko laid the ball off to William Vainqueur following a goalmouth scramble, but the midfielder's well-struck volley blazed wide.

Dzeko again got in on goal in the 80th minute, but his quick turn and shot hit the side netting.
Roma players felt hard done when the referee did not point to the spot following a late Carvajal tackle on Florenzi in the Madrid penalty area.

Substitute Jese scored the clinching goal when played through in the 86th minute, firing beyond Szczesny into the bottom corner, and Zinedine Zidane's team were able to kill off the remainder of the match.

The win marked Real's first away win in their last nine attempts against Italian sides, with their last win on Italian soil a 3-0 victory against Roma in 2004.

The two teams meet again at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 8 to determine who will advance to the quarterfinals.

Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos admits La Liga is out of their hands

Sergio Ramos has conceded that Real Madrid's fate in the Spanish title race rests in the hands of bitter rivals Barcelona although the defender believes all is not lost yet.

The 10-time European champions have fallen seven points behind Barcelona in La Liga - following the Catalans' 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon on Wednesday - and one point behind second-placed Atletico Madrid.

The Real Madrid captain has urged his side to continue chasing the title in case Lionel Messi and Co slip up, but accepts the defending champions are in pole position with 14 games remaining. 

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos (right) knows his side's fate in the title race is out of their hands

The Spanish defender celebrates Champions League victory over Roma with coach Zinedine Zidane (right)

Lionel Messi scored twice against Sporting Gijon to send Barcelona seven points clear at the top of the table

'The title race is not over yet. There are still plenty of games ahead,' Ramos told reporters.

'But it is true that everything depends on Barcelona's results for us. We still have hope that we can win it, though.

'We must remain focused and ensure we do not spill any more points and push Barcelona right until the very end.

'Atletico Madrid are obviously still ahead of us in the title race as well, so we can only wait for them to slip up.'

Madrid travel to Malaga on Sunday for their next La Liga game.

Ramos recently praised Barcelona forward Neymar - who has been linked with a move to the Bernabeu

Ramos, pictured training with Cristiano Ronaldo (left), says he would never leave for Madrid'sfiercest rivals

FIVE PLAYERS TO MAKE THE MOVE 

Michael Laudrup (Barca to Madrid 1994)

Luis Enrique (Madrid to Barca 1996)

Luis Figo (Barca to Madrid 2000)

Ronaldo (Barca to Inter to Madrid 2002)

Samuel Eto'o (Madrid to Mallorca to Barca 2004)

Ramos recently praised Barcelona's Brazilian forward Neymar amid rumours linking him to a move to the Bernabeu, although the defender insists he would never leave for the Nou Camp. 

'Neymar is a great player who can make the difference,' the defender told Manda Pelotas.

'Football is unpredictable and there will always be transfer rumours.

'But the one thing you will never see is Sergio Ramos joining Barcelona.'