Cristiano Ronaldo ended his away scoring drought with an impressive second-half goal as Real Madrid won 2-0 at Roma on Wednesday in the first leg of the Round of 16 in the Champions League.
The victory also marked a successful debut for Zinedine Zidane as Madrid’s manager in the elite competition, with the 10-time champion taking a big step toward the quarterfinals.
It was Ronaldo’s first goal on the road since Nov. 29, when he scored a penalty against Eibar.
Everyone expects (Ronaldo) to score and today he was able to.I’m happy for these two away goals and that we didn’t concede any goals.Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid’s Manager
Shortly before the hour mark, Ronaldo collected a pass up the left flank from Marcelo, rapidly cut inside — moving the ball with a deft flick of his legs — and launched a powerful shot that deflected off Roma fullback Alessandro Florenzi.
He’s a player against whom you can’t concede anything. He can go right or left, it doesn’t matter which way. I was also unlucky, because I deflected the shot and the ball went in right under the crossbar.Alessandro Florenzi, AS Roma
After scoring, Ronaldo ran toward Zidane and hugged the French great, who replaced Rafa Benitez last month.
Substitute Jese then sealed the victory with an angled shot four minutes from the end after Roma failed to take advantage of several opportunities for an equalizer.
At the final whistle, Zidane congratulated each of his players one by one, including those who didn’t play.
I do it because the team is the most important thing. It’s the players who make the difference and today it was Ronaldo — it’s often him — but everyone’s contribution is important, even those who don’t play much. We win all together.Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid’s Manager
The return leg is on March 8 in Madrid.