PARIS: Paris St Germain’s dream of joining Europe’s elite with a Champions League trophy will have to wait another season, as Real Madrid delivered a brutal reality check by cruising through to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win on Tuesday night.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s powerful header — his 12th goal of the competition — and a deflected effort from midfielder Casemiro either side of a close-range finish from PSG’s Edinson Cavani sent Real through 5-2 on aggregate.

Peaking at the right time, Real can be confident of challenging for a third straight title and 13th overall.

PSG still have not reached the semi-finals since their lone appearance in 1995. PSG’s ambitious club motto of “Dream Bigger” should perhaps now be revised. On this evidence, and last season’s humiliation at the hands of Barcelona, PSG remain a club more hopeful than convincing.

Despite huge investment from cash-rich Qatari owners QSI since 2011, PSG have not been past the quarter-finals in that time.

“We needed our heads and our hearts today. But we didn’t have both, we didn’t play as well as Real Madrid,” dejected PSG coach Unai Emery said. “Real deserved to go through. I think they controlled 60 percent of the game and we didn’t do enough with the 40 percent we had. Losing to Real itself isn’t a disappointment, but being knocked out in the last 16 is.”

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, PSG’s fragile defence crumbled and their attack offered little threat without their injured talisman Neymar. The biggest bang from this PSG side was from the fireworks constantly let off by a section of fans behind one goal.

Cavani’s goal gave PSG some hope with 20 minutes left at the Parc des Princes. But with midfielder Marco Verratti already sent off, scoring two more to force extra time was beyond a lacklustre PSG side.

Instead, midfielder Casemiro’s deflected shot looped past stranded goalkeeper Alphonse Areola in the 80th. He was gifted the ball after midfielder Adrien Rabiot dealt poorly with Lucas Vazquez’s cross.

To compound a miserable night for PSG fans, who so badly want to believe this side can conquer Europe, Verratti showed terrible composure to in getting sent off midway through the second half. He got a second yellow card, having protested vehemently with referee Felix Brych after not getting a free kick.

“Our fans got behind us, I apologise to them,” Rabiot said. “We tried but we couldn’t do it.”

Ronaldo had already done his usual damage. The Champions League’s all-time leading scorer was given far too much space and leapt triumphantly to beat Areola with a downward header in the 51st minute. He had netted twice in the first leg.

Ronaldo is hitting top form at a crucial time and has scored in nine Champions League games in a row, matching Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record.

This was a huge test for a PSG side desperate to prove it belongs among Europe’s elite, especially after spectacularly failing last year, becoming the first team eliminated after winning the first leg 4-0. Barcelona won the return 6-1.

“Maybe tonight they weren’t so good, but it’s also because we played very well,” Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “Obviously it became harder for them when we scored the second goal.”

LIVERPOOL END LONG WAIT

In the night’s other match, five-time champions Liverpool eased into the last eight, drawing 0-0 at home to two-time winners FC Porto after winning the away leg 5-0. And Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insisted it is where his side belong after ending a nine-year wait to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

“It feels really good,” said Klopp, who is only in his second full season in charge. “I think this year we belong there to be honest, it should not be a big surprise.

“The next round will be difficult, seven other very good teams, maybe four of them are from England, which doesn’t make it easier. I think we will have a chance for sure to go to the semis. We’ll take it step-by-step and tonight it is cool.”

Porto coach Sergio Conceicao was even more confident about Liverpool’s chances.

“Liverpool are definitely one of the teams that can win the competition,” he said. “They are a really strong team, everyone knows that.”

Despite facing old rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday, Klopp fielded a strong side although top-scorer Mohamed Salah and record signing Virgil van Dijk both started on the bench.

In a predictably low-key game, Liverpool striker Sadio Mane, whose hat-trick in Porto helped ensure there was little at stake at Anfield, came closest to breaking the deadlock.

Mane was off target with an effort at full-stretch from a Joe Gomez cross in the 18th minute and then hit the post in the 31st minute after taking down a ball from James Milner and releasing a low diagonal drive.

While the night lacked drama, the passion was brought by Porto’s supporters who, despite the heavy loss from two weeks ago, travelled to Merseyside to fill the away section and sang their hearts out all night.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2018