Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos was involved in both goals that lead to his team’s victory over Napoli.Andrew Medichini/The Associated Press
Two quick-fire goals saw Real Madrid survive an early scare to win 3-1 at Napoli on Tuesday and reach the Champions League quarter-final for a seventh successive time.
Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, Dries Mertens had given Napoli hope with his 24th-minute strike. But Sergio Ramos headed in a Toni Kroos corner early in the second half and had another header deflected in by Mertens six minutes later to effectively end the contest.
Alvaro Morata ensured the second leg finished with the same scoreline as the first by tapping in a rebound in stoppage time after Pepe Reina had denied Cristiano Ronaldo.
Napoli was left to rue what could have been in the first half, which saw Mertens hit the post. Ronaldo, who is two goals short of becoming the first player to score 100 times in European competition, was also denied by the woodwork.
Needing to win by at least two clear goals, Napoli applied the pressure right from the start, with Mertens having a shot deflected over the bar in the opening minute.
Marek Hamsik also fired inches wide, while Lorenzo Insigne had a shot turned around the post by Keylor Navas.
Madrid appeared to have weathered the early storm and Gareth Bale threatened but the Spanish side was undone by a moment of brilliance from Napoli. Insigne and Hamsik combined, with the latter threading a delightful pass for Mertens to rush into the area and score into the bottom right corner.
Madrid had scored in its past 46 matches and it tied the match six minutes after the break.
Hamsik gave the ball away in the middle of his own half and Elseid Hysaj was forced to head out the danger at the far post, with Ramos heading in the resulting corner.
Madrid doubled its lead from another corner to all but extinguish Napoli's hopes, before Morata rounded off the scoring.
Bayern Munich-Arsenal
Bayern Munich completed Arsenal's Champions League humiliation Tuesday by inflicting another 5-1 rout, which collapsed to its heaviest loss at the Emirates Stadium after having captain Laurent Koscielny sent off.
A night that began with protests against manager Arsene Wenger ended with his side out of the competition in the round of 16 for the seventh consecutive season after the 10-2 aggregate loss.
The emphatic defeat in the first leg three weeks ago left Arsenal with an uphill task against the German champions, but Theo Walcott's 20th-minute goal gave the hosts a glimmer of hope. After Walcott was denied a potential penalty, though, there was no way back for Arsenal after Bayern converted a penalty kick of its own 10 minutes into the second half. Robert Lewandowski scored after being brought down by Koscielny, who was shown a red card.
The man advantage allowed Bayern to tear Arsenal apart with a clinical attacking masterclass. Arjen Robben netted after a poor clearance by goalkeeper David Ospina in the 68th minute, and Douglas Costa added another in the 78th before Arturo Vidal scored twice in the space of five minutes.
As Bayern marched into the quarter-final for the sixth consecutive year, Arsenal cannot be certain it will even be back in the competition next season as it is currently out of the Premier League's top four. There's also uncertainty over the future, with Wenger out of contract at the end of the season.