Real Madrid booked its place in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday after defeating Italian side Atalanta for the second straight round-of-16 match.
Los Blancos came out 3-1 victors in Tuesday's second leg, thanks to goals by Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, and Marco Asensio. After winning the first leg 1-0 back in February, Madrid easily claimed the aggregate by a three-goal margin.
Atalanta knew that it would have to open things up in order to reverse the first-leg result — and on Madrid's home turf, no less. While it wasn't the famed Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, and there were no fans in attendance, the visitors still showed signs of being under pressure.
Things came to a head in the 34th minute when Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello rushed his clearance attempt in order to get rid of the ball before an onrushing Benzema could arrive. The botched pass went straight to Madrid's Luka Modric, who burst into the 18-yard box before laying off a pass for Benzema to easily tap in.
Ramos would add to the tally with a successful penalty kick at the hour mark before Atalanta made things interesting through Luis Muriel's 83rd-minute free-kick goal. However, the renewed hope was extremely short-lived as Asensio scored almost immediately after the restart, putting the game on ice.
Madrid will find out its next Champions League opponent on Friday when UEFA conducts the quarterfinal draw.