Champions League - 2nd Leg
NapoliNapoli1Real MadridReal Madrid3

Napoli 1-3 Real Madrid (2-6 agg)

By Louise GwilliamBBC Sport
Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos has eight goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season

Real Madrid came from a goal down against Napoli in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie to progress to the quarter-finals.

Napoli were utterly dominant in a one-sided first half and took the lead on 24 minutes when Marek Hamsik put Dries Mertens through on goal as Real's defence went missing.

But captain Sergio Ramos netted one and had another header deflected in by Mertens after the break to put the holders in control.

Alvaro Morata then followed up Cristiano Ronaldo's shot to complete a comfortable victory.

Real's defensive weakness was perfectly exploited by Napoli's game plan in the first-half - a high-press put Pepe and Marcelo under pressure before Hamsik threaded a perfect through ball to Mertens who finished well in the bottom corner.

But the Italian side ultimately failed to take their other chances - Hamsik fizzed multiple shots wide before Mertens hit the woodwork and Real eventually made them pay.

The Spanish giants have now reached their seventh successive Champions League quarter-final and are unbeaten in their last 12 Champions League matches (W7, D5); their longest run without defeat in the Champions League or European Cup.

47 games in a row - but Ronaldo frustrated again

Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo is just five away from a century of goals in the Champions League

Real Madrid increased their Spanish record of scoring in 47 consecutive games with a win in Italy, but their Portuguese star striker is enduring his longest barren patch in the Champions League - Ronaldo has now gone six games without a goal.

He has five assists in seven Champions League appearances this term - his most in the competition in a single season for Real - but despite playing his part in Morata's strike, he could claim neither a goal nor an assist as he twice hit the woodwork.

Back from injury, having missed Saturday's 4-1 win over Eibar, Ronaldo had Real's best chance in the first half, but he could only hit the woodwork from a tight angle having rounded Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Once again Real looked leaky at the back - the likes of Hamsik, Lorenzo Insigne and Mertens carving them open with relative ease during the first half.

But captain Ramos came to their rescue and Real never looked back.

Captain fantastic

Sergio Ramos
Ramos has been dismissed a club-record 21 times for Real Madrid

The 30-year-old may be a defender by trade and have a reputation for his red card collection, but he has also made a name for himself at the other end of the pitch.

Ramos is one of only three defenders to have scored in two different European Cup finals.

Alongside Tommy Gemmell (Celtic 1967 and 70), who passed away last week, and Phil Neal (Liverpool 1977 and 84), he scored in both the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finals against Atletico Madrid.

And he came to his side's rescue once again in Naples with two emphatic headers, one deflected by Mertens, at a crucial period in the second half.

With Real Madrid completely outplayed in the first 40 minutes and a goal down courtesy of Mertens' crisp strike, Ramos rose highest from two Toni Kroos corners straight after the break to silence a 57,000-strong crowd inside the San Paolo stadium.

On a tricky night in Italy, where Real Madrid's record is somewhat shaky (18 losses, eight draws and now six wins), the Spain international stepped up when Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Ronaldo flew under the radar.

12 on the trot - the stats you need to know

  • Real Madrid are unbeaten in the past 12 Champions League matches (W7, D5); their longest run without defeat in the Champions League or European Cup.
  • Real Madrid have reached the Champions League quarter-finals in each of the last seven seasons.
  • Dries Mertens has now scored 17 times in his last 16 games in all competitions for Napoli.
  • Seven of Napoli's past 10 Champions League goals have either been scored (5) or assisted (2) by Dries Mertens.
  • Real Madrid have progressed from each of their last nine Champions League ties in the last 16 or beyond when they've won the first leg.
  • Napoli, meanwhile, have now been eliminated on each of the previous five occasions they have lost the first leg of a last 16 tie in European competition.

Line-ups

Napoli

Formation 4-3-3

  • 25Reina
  • 2Hysaj
  • 33Albiol
  • 26Koulibaly
  • 31Ghoulam
  • 5AllanBooked at 55minsSubstituted forRogat 56'minutes
  • 42DiawaraBooked at 89mins
  • 17HamsikSubstituted forZielinskiat 75'minutes
  • 7Callejón
  • 14Mertens
  • 24InsigneSubstituted forMilikat 70'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Barbosa
  • 8Jorginho
  • 11Maggio
  • 19Maksimovic
  • 20Zielinski
  • 30Rog
  • 99Milik

Real Madrid

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Navas
  • 2Carvajal
  • 3Pepe
  • 4Ramos
  • 12Marcelo
  • 19ModricSubstituted forIscoat 80'minutes
  • 14Casemiro
  • 8Kroos
  • 11BaleSubstituted forVázquezat 68'minutes
  • 9BenzemaSubstituted forMorataat 77'minutes
  • 7Cristiano Ronaldo

Substitutes

  • 6Nacho
  • 10Rodríguez
  • 13Casilla
  • 17Vázquez
  • 21Morata
  • 22Isco
  • 23Danilo
Referee:
Cüneyt Çakir
Attendance:
56,695

Match Stats

Home TeamNapoliAway TeamReal Madrid
Possession
Home55%
Away45%
Shots
Home13
Away13
Shots on Target
Home3
Away5
Corners
Home9
Away4
Fouls
Home17
Away8

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Napoli 1, Real Madrid 3.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Napoli 1, Real Madrid 3.

  3. Goal!

    Goal! Napoli 1, Real Madrid 3. Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.

  4. Post update

    Attempt saved. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcelo.

  5. Post update

    Foul by Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli).

  6. Post update

    Isco (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  7. Booking

    Amadou Diawara (Napoli) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Amadou Diawara (Napoli).

  9. Post update

    Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  10. Post update

    Elseid Hysaj (Napoli) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid).

  12. Post update

    Attempt missed. Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.

  13. Post update

    Attempt missed. Marko Rog (Napoli) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Piotr Zielinski.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Real Madrid. Isco replaces Luka Modric.

  15. Post update

    Foul by Dries Mertens (Napoli).

  16. Post update

    Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  17. Post update

    Offside, Real Madrid. Keylor Navas tries a through ball, but Álvaro Morata is caught offside.

  18. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Marcelo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Toni Kroos.

  19. Post update

    Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Elseid Hysaj.

  20. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Marcelo with a cross.

Comments

Join the conversation

These comments are now closed.

23 comments

As It Stood

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Arsenal64201861214
2PSG6330137612
3Ludogorets6033615-93
4FC Basel6024312-92

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Napoli6321118311
2Benfica6222101008
3Besiktas6141914-57
4Dynamo Kyiv61238625

C

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Barcelona65012041615
2Man City6231121029
3B Mgladbach6123512-75
4Celtic6033516-113

D

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Atl Madrid650172515
2Bayern Munich6402146812
3FC Rostov6123612-65
4PSV Eindhoven6024411-72

E

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Monaco632197211
2B Leverkusen624084410
3Tottenham62136607
4CSKA Moscow6033511-63

F

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1B Dortmund64202191214
2Real Madrid63301610612
3Legia Warsaw6114924-154
4Sporting610558-33

G

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Leicester641176113
2FC Porto632193611
3FC Copenhagen62317259
4Club Bruges6006214-120

H

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Juventus6420112914
2Sevilla632173411
3Lyon62225328
4Dinamo Zagreb6006015-150
View full Champions League tables

Elsewhere on the BBC