MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, March 5, (Agencies): Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive goal as Real Madrid controversially came from behind to win 2-1 at Manchester United on Tuesday and reach the Champions League quarter-finals. In a breathless game, Nani forced Sergio Ramos to put through his own goal in the 48th minute to give United a 2-1 aggregate lead in the last 16 tie, only for the Portuguese winger to then be sent off for a foul on Alvaro Arbeloa. Madrid immediately seized the initiative, equalising through substitute Luka Modric in the 66th minute and then earning victory through United old boy Ronaldo on his return to Old Trafford. United’s defeat meant that Ryan Giggs’ 1,000th appearance in senior football ended in disappointment, while Jose Mourinho’s Madrid can dream of a 10th European title after reinvigorating their season in recent weeks.

Giggs roused the home fans with a determined run down the wing in the 20th minute and from the corner he won, United came within a hair’s breadth of taking the lead. Nemanja Vidic met Giggs’ inswinging corner with a typically emphatic header that came back off the right-hand post and goalkeeper Diego Lopez reacted well to smother Danny Welbeck’s instinctive follow-up. Ronaldo began to drift away from the left flank in search of space and in the 28th minute Rio Ferdinand had to produce a fine block to deny his former team-mate, who had deftly brought down a lofted pass.

Encouraged, the visitors then saw Gonzalo Higuain thwarted by United goalkeeper David de Gea, before Ramos had a goal ruled out for a foul on Robin van Persie. The action swang the other way, with Lopez doing brilliantly to divert a shot from Welbeck over the bar after he had allowed a stinging effort from van Persie to get away from him. Despite shading the first half in terms of opportunities, United had nothing to show for their efforts, but that changed within three minutes of the second period.

After Welbeck and van Persie had both seen shots blocked, Nani picked up the ball wide on the left and played a low cross into the Madrid six-yard box that Ramos inadvertently poked into his own net.
The Portuguese celebrated the goal as if he had scored it himself, but moments later, his night was over.
In attempting to control a high ball, he caught Arbeloa in the chest with his studs and was shown a straight red card by referee Cuneyt Cakir, much to Ferguson’s evident displeasure.
United’s manager came to the touchline to rouse the home support but Madrid had the momentum and Rafael da Silva had to bravely clear a Higuain header from below his own crossbar.
Van Persie worked Lopez with a low shot, but Madrid were quickly back on the attack and in the 66th minute, they levelled.
Mourinho had reacted to Nani’s dismissal by introducing Modric in place of Arbeloa and the Croatian had an immediate impact, darting into space and arrowing a superb 25-yard shot past de Gea via the right-hand upright.
The turnaround was complete three minutes later and with poetic inevitability, it was Ronaldo who put Madrid ahead, touching in Higuain’s low cross-shot and then pointedly apologising to the fans behind de Gea’s goal.

In Dortmund, Germany, former European Cup winners Borussia Dortmund marched into the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years by beating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 on Tuesday to advance 5-2 on aggregate. First-half goals from central defender Felipe Santana, a replacement for Mats Hummels, and Mario Goetze effectively killed off the tie following the 2-2 first-leg draw in Ukraine in February. Jakub Blaszczykowski’s close-range effort after 59 minutes buried any lingering hopes for Shakhtar who had come out fighting in the second half. The Bundesliga champions have now won every home game in the competition this season after also beating Real Madrid, Ajax Amsterdam and Manchester City in the group stage. The 1997 Champions League winners, who have played second fiddle to Bayern Munich in Germany this season, quickly took control of the game.

Striker Robert Lewandowski almost put them in front when Goetze sent him through with a defence-splitting pass and the Polish international’s shot was blocked by keeper Andriy Pyatov. The hosts kept up the pressure but their finishing was less than clinical. There was nothing complicated about Santana’s header in the 31st minute, the Brazilian rising high above marker Yaroslav Rakitskiy to nod in a corner at the near post. Goetze made it 2-0 in the 37th minute when he tapped in a well-timed Lewandowski cross with Shakhtar defenders again exposed. The Ukrainians almost pulled one back on the restart with substitute Douglas Costa firing narrowly wide as the visitors poured forward in search of a quick goal. Pyatov, though, spilled a tame shot from Ilkay Guendogan into the path of Blaszczykowski and he grabbed Dortmund’s third goal.