Real Madrid 5-2 APOEL (Agg 8-2). Brilliant Kaka Goal in 37' Minute

Real Madrid can boast the highest-scoring trio in Spanish football's history as the Spanish club strolled into the Champions League semifinals with an absorbing 5-2 victory overAPOEL in their second-leg encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema have now scored 101 goals between them in the 2011-12 season, beating the 100 goal mark of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry, set during Barcelona's treble winning campaign of 2009-10. 

It was an enticing game from start to finish, with a brace from Ronaldo, alongside further strikes from Kaka, Jose Callejon and Angel Di Maria doing the buisness for the hosts, who ended the fairytale run of the brave outfit from Cyprus with an 8-2 aggregate scoreline. 

However, Jose Mourinho will no doubt be frustrated with two lapses in concentration that allowed Gustavo Manduca to finish off a great APOEL move, before Esteban Solari struck from the spot after an infraction by Hamit Altintop. 

With a 3-0 deficit to overcome after the first leg, APOEL was always going to need a near miracle to progress, particularly against a Madrid team in imperious form in Europe. The Spanish outfit had won eight of its nine matches on the continent this season while conceding only four times, the lowest in the competition.

Indeed, Mourinho’s men picked up where they left off after the initial encounter in Cyprus, unsurprisingly dominating play right from the start of the match.

Higuain nodded a Ronaldo cross off target. Ronaldo was blocked expertly by Urko Pardo from point-blank range, all in the first five minutes.

APOEL’s threat was non-existent as the club kept every man behind the ball inside its own half, with the tie already looking like an exercise in damage limitation as Madrid continued to press forward.

Ronaldo sent a towering header just over the bar from Nuri Sahin’s free kick with 20 minutes gone, but the Portuguese forward would not be denied much longer, as six minutes later, he turned home a teasing cross by Marcelo at the far post to score his 48th goal of the season.

Ten minutes later, and Madrid was 2-0 in front after a goal of undeniable quality from Kaka. The Brazilian received a pass from compatriot Marcelo 25 yards from goal and took one touch before unleashing an unstoppable shot that bent past the helpless Pardo into the top corner.

It was one-way traffic in the direction of the visitors’ goal, and Kaka nearly repeated the trick four minutes before halftime with another attempt from distance, but this time sent his shot just the wrong side of the post.

Madrid took its foot off the gas coming out of the interval, with APOEL well and truly floored by the 5-0 aggregate score. The home side saw a succession of efforts fly harmlessly off target as it seemed content to stay in cruise control.

APOEL gained some encouragement from the lethargic play of the hosts, and managed to grab itself consolation with a well worked goal after 67 minutes. Some slick interplay in the Madrid half ended with a clever reverse pass from Ailton to Manduca, who coolly sidefooted home to send the away fans into raptures.

However, Ronaldo brought the visitors back down to earth with a stunning set piece with quarter of an hour to go. Taking aim from a tricky angle on the left side of the box, the Portugese sent the ball past the despairing fingertips of Pardo into the top corner for his first goal direct from a free-kick this season.

Halftime substitute Callejon got in on the act in the 80th minute, smashing home Di Maria’s pass at the near post for the home side’s fourth.

Madrid was breached once again within two minutes though, after a foul by Altintop was spotted by the referee, allowing Solari the chance to beat Iker Casillas with a composed finish from the spot.

Di Maria was able to add further gloss to the scoreline in the 84th minute with an impudent chip over Pardo, after sprinting in unopposed from midfield.

The match ended frantically as Di Maria and Solari both went close, but the result was never in doubt as the home side finished with confidence.

Madrid marches into an enticing semifinal matchup against Bayern Munich, with the first leg set to be played on April 17 at the Allianz Arena in Germany.