Real Madrid 3-0 Olympique Lyonnais (4-1 Agg.)

Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria were all on target as los Blancos eased to victory over les Gones...

Jose Mourinho has led Real Madrid through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in seven years, ousting Olympique Lyonnais with a comfortable 3-0 victory on the night, 4-1 on aggregate.

Marcelo scored towards the end of the first half, before the tie was killed off by Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria.

Los Blancos moved into the lead 10 minutes before the interval, with Marcelo scoring a wonderful effort. Driving in from the left flank, the Brazilian played a one-two with Cristiano Ronaldo before showing composure at the edge of the box to defy Dejan Lovren. With just Hugo Lloris to beat, the left-back completed the job, despite the France international custodian getting a significant hand to the ball.

Midway through the second half, after controlling matters for the most part, los Blancos finally got the second goal that allowed them valuable breathing space. A hopeful long ball forward confused Dejan Lovren and Cris, allowing Benzema through to effectively oust his former team by slotting the ball in between the legs of Lloris.

OL looked increasingly ragged, and with a quarter of an hour remaining, another simple long ball caught the Frenchmen out, and they were punished by Di Maria, who latched onto Mesut Oezil's flicked header to before chipping his shot past Lloris.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had said earlier this week that he anticipated the home side attempting to play out a scoreless draw, but there was little evidence of such intent from Madrid in the early stages as they pushed players forward in dangerous waves.

Much pre-match speculation had circulated over the participation of Cristiano Ronaldo, and it would be the Portuguese player, installed in his usual position in los Blancos’ attack, who had the first direct effort on goal. Lloris, however, was well positioned to save the header.

Ronaldo would flit in and out of the game, but despite being a largely peripheral figure he would draw another save from the visiting goalkeeper, who had to work hard to push away a fierce shot from the corner of the area.

OL largely dealt well with Madrid’s early forays and offered some threat on the break. Lisandro Lopez, who was absent in the first leg, was making a nuisance of himself and smacked an early volley comfortably high but Cesar Delgado had Iker Casillas scrambling to push away a well-placed low drive.

After opening the scoring, los Blancos were suddenly buzzing. Lloris had to make a smart reflex stop to turn a Benzema shot over the top and little over a minute later the French striker had a header correctly disallowed for offside.

Les Gones adopted a more attacking stance after the break, but it was still the home side who were looking more dangerous. Mesut Oezil offered the first serious moment of danger, but after a flowing attack his shot was deflected over by Cris.

Lyon increasingly pushed players forward but got little change from their hosts, who threatened constantly when they broke. Benzema, moments after striking the second, flashed a shot goalwards that needed a smart touch over the top from Lloris, while the best OL could muster were Bafetimbi Gomis' shots that Casillas dealt with sufficiently.

One year ago, Real Madrid suffered a dark night against les Gones at the Bernabeu, but Mourinho thoroughly exorcised the ghosts, leading the nine-time European champions through to the last eight without any great drama.

Now amongst the elite of the elite for the first time in seven seasons, Madrid will be aiming to rubber stamp their status as the continent’s most successful club by becoming the first team to lift 10 European Cups.