By kayode OGUNDARE
Cristiano Ronaldo insists it does not matter who Real Madrid face in the Champions League quarter-finals after their victory over Roma as Los Blancos are primed to take on rivals Barcelona, Bayern Munich or anybody else.
The Portugal international overcame whistles from his own supporters at Santiago Bernabeu to score in a 2-0 last-16 second-leg victory for Zinedine Zidane’s side.
That gave record 10-time winners Madrid a 4-0 aggregate win and puts them into the last eight, where Ronaldo feels they are ready for any potential opponent.
“I’m happy,” he said to UEFA. “We achieved the objective that we set out to, which was to win and get into the quarter-finals.
“Who we get doesn’t matter. We will just have to wait and see what happens.
“There is still a long way to go in the Champions League. We know that the quarters and semis will be even more difficult, but the team is ready.
“The side played well, we scored twice again and we are delighted as we knew it was going to be a tough game. Roma also had their chances and could have scored one or two goals, but we also had a lot of opportunities.
“It was an even game in the first half, but in the second Real Madrid played better, created more chances and scored two very important goals.”
Ronaldo also hailed the form of goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who made it eight consecutive Champions League clean sheets to move within one match of equalling Jens Lehmann’s record of nine, which was set in 2005-06.
“Keylor has been a crucial player from the start of the season,” said the 31-year-old attacker, who has scored 13 goals in his past nine matches.
“In my opinion, he is one of the side’s best players and is a top keeper. He is playing very well and I’m made up for him.”
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