BERNE, April 5: Real Madrid cruised into the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-2 win on the night over APOEL Nicosia on Wednesday to seal a semi-final meeting with four-time winners Bayern Munich while Chelsea squeezed past gallant 10-man Benfica 2-1 to set up a re-match against holders Barcelona.

Chelsea’s 3-1 aggregate win, after a nerve-racking finale, means they will repeat their acrimonious semi-final of three seasons ago when the Catalans won on away goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice at the Santiago Bernabeu to take him to 49 goals for the season as nine-time champions Real ended APOEL’s dream run with an 8-2 aggregate win.

Ronaldo tapped Marcelo’s cross into the net at the back post in the 26th and Kaka doubled the lead with a sublime shot from the edge of the area 10 minutes later before Gustavo Manduca pulled one back in the 67th but Ronaldo with a curling free-kick and a Jose Callejon goal made it 4-1.

Esteban Solari netted a penalty for the visitors but Angel Di Maria immediately lobbed a fifth for Real against the first Cypriot team to reach the quarter-finals of any European competition.

Chelsea look far from being able to cope with holders Barcelona in their last-four meeting if they repeat their performance in the wobbly home win over a Benfica side that was down to 10 men after 40 minutes.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg in Lisbon, Chelsea reached halftime in a dominant position after Frank Lampard’s first-half penalty.

Twice European champions Benfica refused to lie down and grabbed a deserved equaliser with a Javi Garcia header with five minutes to go. As the Portuguese pressed for a tie-winning goal, they were caught on the break as Chelsea’s Portuguese substitute Raul Meireles struck the winner.

Results: Real Madrid 5    APOEL 2 (Real win 8-2 on aggregate) Chelsea 2    Benfica 1 (Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate).—Reuters