Istanbul: Real Madrid reached the Champions League semi-finals for the third straight season on Tuesday despite losing 3-2 at Galatasaray following a second-half resurgence by the Turkish team. Madrid needed a double from Cristiano Ronaldo to advance 5-3 on aggregate, but only after conceding three goals in a 16-minute span to raise Galatasaray's hopes of pulling off what would have been a remarkable comeback.
Ronaldo looked to have wrapped up the quarter-final series by scoring in the seventh minute for a 4-0 overall lead, requiring Galatasaray to score at least five goals to advance. The Portugal forward scored again in stoppage time for his 48th goal - including a competition-high 11 in the Champions League - in 47 matches this season. But only after Galatasaray came alive following Emmanuel Eboue's 57th-minute leveler.
Galatasaray forward Wesley Sneijder scored in the 71st, before Didier Drogba added another goal a minute later. Both previously played under Madrid coach Jose Mourinho - Sneijder at Inter Milan, Drogba at Chelsea.
Madrid was hanging on at this stage as the crowd, whipped up into a fervor, urged Galatasaray on....
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02:39 AM, Apr 10, 2013
Drogba, who took the winning penalty for Chelsea in last season's final, scored with a header five minutes into his Galatasaray debut on Friday. ...
04:23 PM, Feb 19, 2013
Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Arjen Robben have been left out of the Netherlands squad for next week's friendly against Italy. ...
07:30 PM, Feb 01, 2013
Drogba is teaming up with Wesley Sneijder at Galatasaray, giving the Turkish club a second major signing in a week. ...
10:56 AM, Jan 29, 2013
Inter technical director Marco Branca said Sneijder would not play until he made a decision about his future. ...
04:45 PM, Jan 16, 2013
A brief statement from the Turkish club on Saturday said a deal was reached with Inter but that talks with the Dutch ongoing were ongoing. ...
07:00 PM, Jan 12, 2013
A move to the Premier League looks the most obvious choice for the talented Dutch playmaker at the moment. ...
11:47 AM, Dec 29, 2012
Sneijder is reportedly set on his way to join Paris Saint-Germain following a contract renewal row with Inter Milan. ...
12:20 PM, Dec 10, 2012
Inter say on their website that the Netherlands international sat out training Friday with a leg muscle problem. ...
11:07 PM, Dec 07, 2012
Sneijder has been sidelined for two months with injury but has now returned to fitness. ...
10:29 PM, Dec 03, 2012
Inter president has insisted that he in no way wants to force Wesley Sneijder into signing a new contract. ...
12:45 PM, Dec 03, 2012
The Netherlands playmaker is set for talks with club officials on Monday over a deal which reportedly requires him to take a pay cut. ...
11:16 PM, Dec 02, 2012
Javier Zanetti has urged parties concerned to use common sense while sorting out Wesley Sneijder's contract row. ...
12:18 PM, Dec 01, 2012
Inter Milan will consider selling Netherlands midfielder Wesley Sneijder after talks over accepting a wage cut stalled. ...
05:26 PM, Nov 30, 2012
The Hague: Wesley Sneijder has replaced Mark van Bommel as the new captain of the Dutch football team, head coach Louis van Gaal announced ahead of Wednesday's friendly match against Belgium in Brussels. Van Bommel announced his retirement from the national team after the early exit at Euro 2012. The 28-year-old Sneijder has played 87 internationals and was being considered as the natural leader of the team, reports Xinhua. Van...
05:09 PM, Aug 15, 2012
If you had any doubts that something was wrong with the Netherlands football team, they were compounded after defeat to Denmark over the weekend. If you still thought it was just one bad loss and that one of the pre-tournament favourites would bounce back, then you missed Wesley Sneijder's strong comments before the game against Germany on Wednesday. "It is time we let these pathetic egos go. If somebody is...
01:33 PM, Jun 14, 2012
Wesley Sneijder's transfer to Inter Milan has gone through. ...
11:04 PM, Aug 29, 2009
Nerazzurri are reported to be close to an agreement for a lucrative loan deal. ...
12:13 AM, Aug 14, 2009
