(Disclaimer): Opinions expressed are my own. For full coverage of the UEFA Champions League, visit http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/index.html

Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals in two games as defending champs move on

Surprises were abound in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals; an 18-year-old scored three goals in two games, and a man with no international goals netted two goals versus Barcelona. But the only surprise in Ronaldo scoring his 100^th career Champions League goal was in how quickly it happened.

That’s because it indeed happened in the quarterfinals as Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich. The soccer celebrity scored both of Real Madrid’s goals in the first leg, and three of their four goals in the second-leg. But Bayern Munich put up a fight, and this ended up being the most dramatic second-leg of the quarterfinals.

Bayern put the pressure on early at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, eager to erase their 2-1 aggregate deficit. While right-back Dani Carvajal created some chances for Real Madrid in the first half, the German club put the pressure on early and sustained it for most of the match. The breakthrough came in the second half when Robben dashed into the penalty area and drew a controversial penalty kick, the first of multiple disputed calls from this contest. Nonetheless, Robert Lewandowski chipped in the penalty in the 51^st-minute for Bayern to get one step closer to a comeback.

Los Merengues responded with a goal in the 76^th-minute, as Casemiro shook off a challenge and sent a cross for Ronaldo, who got past the Bayern central defense and headed the ball in the net. Real Madrid seemed bound for the semis. But just seconds after the kickoff, Bayern forced a ball into the box that was deflected by Sergio Ramos into Real Madrid’s net for an own-goal. The series was back on even terms; 3-3 on aggregate, 2-2 on away goals.

The controversy came in the 84^th-minute as Bayern’s Arturo Vidal picked up a second yellow card to equate to a red card. On the replay, he seemed to have tackled the ball away and Casemiro seemed to arrive late as he tripped over Vidal’s leg. But the referee’s call was that Vidal took down Casemiro, and just like that, Bayern had to play the rest of the match shorthanded.

The match went into extra time, where Real Madrid took over. In the first half of extra time, Ronaldo scored his second goal in the 104^th-minute as he chested down a cross and kicked it in. In the second half of extra time, Marcelo breached the high-pressing Bayern defense and drew the goalie off his line. He threaded a ball to Ronaldo for a tap-in to make it 5-3 in the 109^th minute. That goal gave Ronaldo both a hat-trick and his 100^th career UEFA Champions League goal. Real Madrid put the icing on the cake as Marco Asensio split the defense and scored in the 112^th minute to make it 6-3 on aggregate to cap the scoring.

Real Madrid will take on Atlético Madrid in the semifinals in another two-leg series. The winner will play against the winner of the Monaco vs. Juventus series in the final. The final will be one match for all the marbles on June 3th in Cardiff, Wales.

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These questions and more will all be answered in the quarterfinals. The first-leg matches take place April 11-12, followed by the second legs on April 18-19.

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich

Easily the tie of the round, this contest between two of Europe’s most historically elite clubs is a must-see event. No one has more European silverware than Los Blancos (six European Cups and five modern Champions Leagues, including last year’s title), but Bayern are third (tied with Liverpool and FC Barcelona) with five trophies (behind AC Milan’s seven). Bayern are sitting pretty with a 10-point lead in the Bundesliga table and will be able to turn their full attention to the Champions League. Madrid, on the other hand, are in a much closer domestic race in Spain.
Advantage: Bayern.

FC Barcelona vs. Juventus
Barcelona achieved the greatest comeback in Champions League history when they overcame a 4-0 first-leg deficit to defeat PSG 6-1 at the Camp Nou in the Round of 16. The Blaugrana will believe anything is possible—perhaps even destiny—as they face Juventus in the next round. Juve will hope Barcelona’s permeable back line (23 goals conceded in La Liga so far) and relative inconsistency this season will offset the Spanish club’s phenomenal trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar. The Old Lady also have a Bayern-like advantage in Serie A (eight points), but at the same time they have not faced any true blue bloods in the Champions League until now. Barcelona have been tested by PSG and Manchester City and still advanced—not to mention that they have rediscovered their swagger at the most opportune time of the season. Advantage: Barcelona.

Leicester City FC vs. Atletico Madrid
Leicester City doubled down on winning the English Premier League crown last season by overcoming Sevilla and becoming the only English team remaining in the Champions League. The Foxes will face their toughest test yet against the 2013-14 Spanish league champions Atletico, who were also Champions League finalists in both 2015-16 and 2013-14. Of all the ties in the round, this one will likely come down simply to who wants it more. Both teams feature game changing players (Antoine Griezmann, Riyad Mahrez, etc.), but grit may very well carry the day if these teams stick to their cautious defending and counterattacking ways rather than trying to open up and risk of being caught out. However, when it comes to finding ways to win at the highest level and with everything on the line, few are more skilled or experienced than Atletico.
Advantage: Atletico.

Borussia Dortmund vs. AS Monaco

Though neither side has the star power of a Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo like the first two ties on this list, Dortmund vs. Monaco could prove to be the most exciting contest of the round. Monaco progresses to this round by putting six past Manchester City, while Dortmund hit Benfica with five. Both teams are deadly in the attack. Both teams have an array of young, exciting stars, like Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Christian Pulisic, and Bernardo Silva. Dortmund, though, have the intangible advantage of the deafening Westfalenstadion, while Monaco’s humble Stade Louis II has a capacity of under 20,000. What’s more, Dortmund have a far superior track record in the Champions League in recent years and, if Marco Reus is able to return from injury in time, the German’s will have more than enough firepower to overcome the Ligue 1 leaders.
Advantage: Dortmund.

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