Real Madrid 3, VfL Wolfsburg 0 (Agg: 3-2): Zidane revels in best night of managerial career as Ronaldo treble stokes Champions League comeback
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane shrugged off speculation about his job security and instead chose to revel in his side’s stunning second-leg comeback after a Cristiano Ronaldo treble broke the resistance of Wolfsburg.
Former Manchester United forward Ronaldo wiped out the German outfit’s advantage with two strikes in the space of 86 first-half seconds before taking his Champions League tally to 93 goals in 125 appearances with a late clincher.
Victory eased Real’s passage to the semi-finals of the Champions League for a sixth successive season and revived a campaign which was in danger of flagging following last week’s first-leg defeat to mid-table Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.
“I have a fantastic team. I like what I do and I’m very happy with it,” said Zidane. “I’m very happy with what I’m doing and I’m not worried about what might happen in the future.
“This comeback is something incredible. It’s my best night as a manager. We entered the game with a lot of intensity, showing that we wanted to be in the semi-finals.
“There are tough moments like the first leg, but we need to use our heads because in football anything can happen.”
The irrepressible Ronaldo swept home from six yards to give Real the all-important breakthrough on 15 minutes, while moments later the 31-year-old glanced a header past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio to level the aggregate scores.
Portuguese Ronaldo completed his hat-trick with a 77th-minute free-kick — his 34th goal in 36 Champions League knockout matches since moving to Real in 2009.